Shikon Boarding School: Sophomore Year
by InuXKags
Summary: REVISED VERSION OF SILVERLAKE BOARDING SCHOOL Six teens. Six crushes. Three boys. Three girls. One school year. One dorm. You know for sure that there will be romance, drama, friendship, and, best of all, humor.
1. Shikon High School

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha. The anime, manga and characters all belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**

**Author's Note: Behold! The revised version of "Silverlake Boarding School"! It's kind of funny how this one chapter was originally the first four chapters of Silverlake. See? I'm laughing...No, wait, you can't see me laughing...Read? I am laughing...LOL...? XD Wow, had a stupid moment there. OOPS. Anyways. I REALLY hope you enjoy the revised version much more than the original.**

**By now, you probably know what I'm about to say before you start reading: REVIEW!!! Please?**

****THIS IS THE REVISED VERSION OF SILVERLAKE BOARDING SCHOOL!****

**Chapter One: Shikon High School**

It was 1:37 in the morning. The sun had set long ago, being replaced by the silvery moon glowing brilliantly in the midnight sky. There were very few stars surrounding the half-moon, a pure white semicircle floating alone. This was the lovely scenery Sango Taijiya had witnessed when she had been awakened, rather unceremoniously by her best friend's pair of jeans.

"Ugh," she grunted as she swatted the bothersome clothing out of her face. As soon as the denim garment had fallen to the floor with a crumpling thump, Sango felt her bangs frizz on her forehead and some stray pieces of long brown hair slip out of her ponytail. "Kagome, what the hell?" she moaned irritably as she sat up on Kagome's bed.

Kagome, Sango's childhood friend, glanced up from the suitcase laying open on the carpet. She smiled guiltily. "Sorry, Sango," she whispered. "I forgot you were sleeping there."

Sango hummed before flopping back in an attempt to go back to sleep.

Sango and Kagome were at Kagome's house, in Kagome's bedroom to be exact, preparing to go to a boarding school they'd been accepted to just before the summer had started. Sango was spending the night at Kagome's house since Kagome lived much closer to the boarding school, so, in case they were to run late, they could jump into Sango's car and get there ten minutes earlier than they would've if they'd spent the night at Sango's. But, anyway, here they were, at 1:38 A.M., in Kagome's room.

Kagome was one of those people who had the famous habit known as procrastination. She was beginning to regret that she hadn't broken that habit years ago. She had had an entire summer to pack up all the necessities for her to have with her while living at the boarding school. It was like moving to college, only she was going to be a sophomore in high school.

She was currently kneeling on the floor, surrounded by mountains of clothes. Wrinkled T-shirts were strewn across the floor, a hazard to anyone who dared to walk across Kagome's room. Pants hung from the doorknobs and lamps and chairs. Bras messily lined the dusty bookshelves that'd already been emptied out. Socks that were rolled-up into little balls had somehow ended up under the bed.

Kagome stressfully looked from one pile of clothing to the stack of books that'd been knocked over. The lamplight was not bright enough for Kagome to see everything without blinding poor Sango. Kagome wanted to clean the mess up, but she was too tired, but she needed to pack up before 7 o'clock! But she was so sleepy…

"Sango!" she called out for help.

Sango moaned groggily in reply.

"Please help me," begged the hopeless raven-haired girl.

Sango sighed, but forced herself to get off Kagome's cozy bed. "Sango to the rescue," she drowsily said.

Kagome smiled gratefully. She automatically leaped up and went to turn on the lights.

"AUGH!!" Sango cried out, shielding her eyes from the bright light. Kagome apologized again. Sango waved a hand in pardon before standing up and tying her hair back up again. "Okay, Kagome. We have five hours to pack up your things in five suitcases. Are you ready?"

Kagome's response to this was a reluctant sigh, but she also stood up and tied her long black hair back into a bun. "As ready as I'll ever be," she muttered.

Sango curtly nodded before she stooped to gather several T-shirts. Kagome scurried around the room and collected all of the clothing that clung to the furniture. Thenceforward, the girls cleaned and packed.

-

"Pencils?"

"Check!"

"Notebooks?"

"Check!"

"iPod?"

"Check!"

"Hairstyling products and tools?"

"Check!"

"Well," Sango ultimately said, tucking the notebook with the checklist in it under her arm as she capped her pen. "I think we've got everything."

"Good," Kagome sighed. She wiped the back of her hand across her forehead, where a thin sheet of sweat had been produced during the hours of hard labor. Now they could finally rest. Kagome slumped tiresomely into her mattress. Sango collapsed onto the bed beside her. The pair closed their brown eyes and began drifting off to sleep…

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"UUUUUUUUUUUUGH!!" the girls groaned in unison. They mumbled curses as Kagome reached out to slap the off button. The two girls sat at the edge of Kagome's bed, swabbing away the disgusting eye boogers.

"Kagome," Sango grumbled. "You owe me _big_ time for this."

The raven-haired girl blushed a bit.

After a few minutes of complaining, Kagome and Sango each took a quick shower, brushed their teeth, and got dressed before beginning the dreaded process of dragging Kagome's suitcases down the staircase to Sango's car.

"Morning, girls!" Mama Higurashi called from the kitchen.

"Morning," the girls muttered in reply as they each dragged a piece of luggage across the foyer.

Once finished with the luggage lugging, Sango and Kagome ate a swift breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast. After bidding their goodbyes to Kagome's family, the pair of girls hopped into Sango's car, buckled their seatbelts and drove off towards their new school.

"Um, Sango?" Kagome said as Sango's pet cat, Kirara, hopped onto her lap.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure they allow cats in the dorm?"

Sango rolled her coffee-colored eyes. "Yes, Kagome. They do. I checked like twenty times over the summer, remember?"

"Uh…"

"Never mind. Don't try to remember."

Kagome frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"Face it, Kagome, your memory is worse than my grandmother's."

"Oh, really?"

Sango stopped at a stoplight while the light was red. She turned to her friend. "Sarcasm, Kagome. Sarcasm!"

"Psh! I knew that." The girls shared a laugh until Sango was honked at by the car behind her. Blushing like mad, Sango slammed on the gas pedal a little too hard, causing Kagome to have a death grip on her seat.

Once Sango leveled off, Kagome brought up something that'd been plaguing her mind ever since they had registered to attend Shikon Boarding School.

"What do you mean you're not comfortable?!" Sango shouted as she steered the car carefully down the freeway.

Kagome hunched her shoulders slightly. "Well, it's just, um, the roommates I'm uncomfortable with."

"The roommates? But we haven't even _met_ them yet!"

"I know, but remember when we were filling out the forms together, and we checked the box that said we wanted a co-ed dorm?"

"Yeah…" Then, Sango understood. "Oh, _come on_, Kagome! Don't tell me you're boy-shy!"

Kagome's cheeks flamed a dark pink. "I'm not! I'm just uncomfortable with sleeping and waking up with boys in the same room."

Sango rolled her eyes again. "Kagome, the girls' room and the boys' room are separated. Plus, the doors have locks."

"Still…"

"If you're so uncomfortable, pretend that the guys are gay or something."

"What? I don't-"

"Don't worry, Kagome," Sango encouraged. "You'll be fine!"

Feeling a bit more reassured than she originally was, Kagome smiled. She felt as if a heavy weight labeled 'Stress' were lifted off her mind, and her heart beat quicker from the excitement. She wondered what this brand new school year held in store for her.

-

Kagome and Sango arrived at the school with ten minutes left to spare. They were still new to this school, so they decided to use the time to explore the school and search for the auditorium, where an orientation was being held for new incoming students and old returning students. However, their jaws instantly dropped when they caught a glimpse of the boarding school. It was giant. They had expected at least three or four separate buildings to segregate the dormitory rooms and classrooms, but instead there was just one massive building.

"Wow" was all Kagome could say.

"Great," Sango bluntly said, her grip on the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles were milky white. "How the heck do they expect us to find our way around in a freaking _labyrinth_?"

"It looked much smaller in the registration forms," Kagome noted, eyeing the building from the lip of the smokestacks to the freshly mowed green grass skirting around the base of the building.

"Let's just hope we don't get lost," Sango said. She steered the car into the student parking lot. The only vacant spaces were near the back, so, groaning in irritation, Sango parked there.

"Do we take our luggage?" Kagome asked as she slipped out of the vehicle.

"I have no idea," The brunette replied. She lowered the car windows, then went to put Kirara in her pet carrier. "Let's just leave everything here, then come back after the orientation."

"All right."

Sango locked all the car doors, then shoved her keys deep inside her jeans pocket. She and Kagome walked towards the school, glancing at the school's incredible height. Neither of them had a clue where the auditorium was located. But, to their relief, there were a few teachers standing by the front doors, handing out maps and information pamphlets and student handbooks. The girls used these items to their advantage, and found the auditorium in no time.

The auditorium was obviously the largest room in the school, according to the colorful map. It looked like a typical school auditorium with an enormous stage up front and a seating area with hundreds of seats and tens of rows. The seating area was arranged so that all of the seats are placed higher than the seats immediately in front of them. That way, the people in the rows near the back could see what was happening onstage. Propped up in the middle of a stage was a podium with a microphone stand situated next to it. There was no one standing behind the podium at the moment. The dark red curtains were drawn, creating a blood red backdrop for the speaker during the orientation. Opposite the stage was obviously the seating area, where countless students, old and new, assembled. A majority of them were chatting loudly to each other while the newer students fidgeted with their hands or began reading from the student handbook.

Sango and Kagome ambled down the carpeted staircase that served as an aisle, searching for a pair of unoccupied seats. They finally found two vacant seats somewhere in the middle of the auditorium. They people-watched for a while, mentally taking note of how many students were attending the school. If they had to guess, they would estimate at least one thousand students.

Kagome was making a vain attempt to recognize someone on her right side when her eyes suddenly met those of a dark blue hue. She gazed at the person's face, observing the thick black brows that framed the midnight blue eyes so well, the feathery black bangs that fell gracefully over a smooth forehead, the average nose, the full lips…

"GAH!! IT'S A GUY!" Kagome cried out.

"Huh?" Sango raised a brow at Kagome, whose hot red face was buried in her hands. "What's a guy?"

Kagome straightened up. "Um, nothing." She shoved her fisted hands into her lap, still blushing madly. "Never mind."

Sango smirked. "Ooh, Kaggie's got a crush on a guy already, huh?"

"N-NO!" Kagome stuttered. The blush on her face, however, showed Sango that her friend was lying. But Sango didn't have the chance to even open her mouth when she heard several cheers and polite applause and shouts of "You rock, Myouga!" echoing throughout the spacious auditorium.

Walking up the few steps on one side of the stage was a short, stout man. He was balding, and what was left of his hair was a grayish-white. He was wearing an ironed button-up shirt and black slacks. Upon hearing the teenaged audience's response to seeing him, he turned to the crowd and waved, grinning from ear to ear. When he finally got to the stage, he had to wait patiently for a a minute or two until he could finally start the orientation.

"Good morning, idiots!" greeted the short man.

There was some laughter, many shocked expressions by the new students, and several greetings of "Good morning, Mr. Myouga!" Sango was one of the many people who laughed while Kagome's jaw dropped in astonishment.

"Well, as much as I'd rather stay at home and drink some of my mom's homemade lemonade, I have to be here," said the principal, pretending to look depressed. This statement roused more laughter from the audience. "Nonetheless," he continued, "I am glad to see you all again. How much do you want to bet that somebody already put a whoopee cushion on my chair?" More laughter.

Kagome couldn't help but giggle. She was already beginning to like this new school.

Mr. Myouga cleared his throat and proceeded with his entertaining speech. "No, seriously, I'm actually excited to start a new school year here at Shikon High. Not only do I get to see my old kids, but I get to see some new faces, too. Please stand up if you're new here."

Sango, Kagome, and about a hundred others meekly stood up. While politely clapping, the older students stared at the new students, most of them pressing their lips together as if they were trying their very best not to laugh. Kagome wondered why.

"Okay, you may sit down now," Mr. Myouga said, wearing the same expression as the majority of the old students.

But as soon as the new students plopped back down in their seats, many whoopee cushions exploded beneath their bottoms. The fart noises made the once-quiet room vibrate, resulting with an explosion of laughter from the entire student body. Kagome, Sango and all of the other new students blushed, but giggled timidly as well.

After the laughter ceased, Mr. Myouga wiped a tear from his eye. "That's Shikon High's way of saying 'Greetings' to new students," he explained. "Anyways! Moving on to everyone's favorite part of the orientation: The rules!" Silence followed. "Yes, I can _definitely_ feel your excitement!" Many people chuckled. Mr. Myouga opened up the student handbook and began reading,

"Dress Code…!" He glanced up at the students and said, "Basically, no cleavage, butt cracks, hats, gloves, sunglasses, midriffs, see-through clothing, blankets, pajamas, coats, booty shorts, short skirts, strapless shirts, halter tops, spaghetti straps, and RIP shirts. Simple enough, right?" His face suddenly looked irritated. "And guys…if I see any of you waddling around the school with your pants sagging, I swear I'll…" Some people chuckled while others noisily accused their friends of letting their pants sag.

"Curfews!" Mr. Myouga continued. "All students must be in their dorm rooms by 10:00 P.M. Any students out in hallways after curfew will be punished. Students are to sign out if they are driving somewhere, but they must be back before curfew, unless granted permission to spend the weekend with their family."

The orientation went on for approximately an hour, the rules being explained further in detail along with many other rules and stuff like that. Eventually, Mr. Myouga dismissed the students to go get their schedules from their designated areas: freshmen were to stay in the auditorium, sophomores were to go to the cafeteria, juniors were to go to the gym, and seniors were to go to the library.

Sango and Kagome held hands as they left the auditorium, for they did not want to be separated from each other in the horde of rushing students. They clutched their student handbooks and map in their sweating hands as they nervously followed the other sophomores into the cafeteria. That's when they discovered that the schedules were being handed in a controlled manner: there were four large desks, each with a giant sign above it. All in all, the teachers were handing out schedules by last name.

Kagome and Sango bid temporary farewells to each other before heading to their designated lines; Kagome to Line G-M and Sango to Line T-Z.

Kagome shuffled over to her line, sweeping her gaze over all the students in hopes of recognizing a familiar face. No success. To pass the time, she began paging through her handbook. Suddenly, someone crashed into her back.

"Sorry!" Kagome tilted her head over her shoulder. Standing behind her was a blushing redheaded girl wearing a white jacket over a black tank top and a skirt. Tucked into one of her auburn pigtails was a blue-violet iris.

"Oh, it's okay," Kagome said with a friendly smile. "I like your flower. It's really pretty."

The girl meekly smiled. "Thank you. There's a bunch of these that grow outside my house."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's actually my favorite flower, too!"

This quick little chitchat eventually turned into a friendly conversation. Kagome knew that she and this redheaded girl were going to be good friends, even if they _were_ just standing in a line. After a minute or two of talking, Kagome already learned that the girl's name was Ayame and she was new to Shikon High as well.

Once the girls were handed their schedules, Kagome offered to introduce Sango to Ayame. Ayame eagerly nodded. It seemed as if the redhead was very enthusiastic about making new friends.

However, when Kagome and Ayame got to Line T-Z, Kagome saw that Sango was still in line. Sango made an exaggerated sad face to show how disappointed she was at how slow the line moved. But then, Kagome's gaze shifted from Sango to a few people behind her. Her brown irises met a familiar pair of blue eyes…

"GAH!! IT'S HIM AGAIN!!" Kagome cried to no one in particular.

"Who?" Ayame asked, ducking from one of Kagome's flailing arms.

"Huh?" Kagome paused. Then she rubbed the back of her neck, laughing nervously. "O-Oh! Nobody. I was just being dumb."

Ayame raised an eyebrow at Kagome, but shrugged it off. "Have you found out what dorm room you're in yet?" she asked.

"No. Did they write it on the schedule?"

"Yeah, it's right…here." Ayame pointed at the top right corner, where, printed in bold letters, the words 'Dorm Room' were.

Kagome glanced at the number. "I'm in Room…925. How about you?"

"Room 925! We're roommates!"

"YEAH! High-five!" The two girls attempted to slap hands and missed. "That was a very crappy high-five," Kagome commented. Ayame laughed and the girls tried again, succeeding this time.

"Greetings to my friend Kagome!" Sango panted as she trotted up to Ayame and Kagome, making a Vulcan salute with her hand, like in Star Trek. In the other hand, she was clutching her schedule along with her student handbook. The brunette turned to the redhead. "And, uh, greetings to this stranger," she said.

Ayame giggled before returning the Vulcan salute. "Greetings to you, too." Then she held out her hand, indicating that she wanted to shake hands. "I'm Ayame," she politely said.

Sango firmly grabbed her hand and shook it. "I'm Sango."

Kagome tapped Sango's shoulder. "Hey, what's your dorm room number?"

"Huh? Oh, it's uh…" Sango glanced at her little white card and found the number. "It's 925."

Kagome and Ayame gasped before hugging each other and Sango. They began bouncing around and dancing. "YAAAY!!" they cheered.

"YAAAAY!!" Sango shouted a little louder than the other two. "Why are we cheering?"

"Kagome and I are also in 925," Ayame answered.

Sango gasped joyfully. "YAAAAAY!!" she cheered, dancing again.

"We're done dancing, Sango," Kagome said.

"Sorry." Sango let go of her best friend and her new friend. She cleared her throat and tucked her hair behind her ear.

When the girls compared classes, they discovered that they had the exact same schedules.

"That's very ironic," Ayame commented, staring down at her schedule.

"Maybe it's because they wanted it to be easier for us to get along," Sango suggested with a shrug. "I mean, since we're roommates, we'll be able to have classes together and all that."

"I _think_ I understand what you just said," Ayame said with mock uncertainty. She and Sango looked at each other before bursting out laughing.

Sango looked up at Kagome, who was twitching a bit. "Kagome?" the brunette said.

"GAAAAH!! IT'S HIM AGAIN!!!" Kagome screamed before sprinting off to the nearest girls' restroom.

"Kagome!" Sango and Ayame called as they chased after her. Both of them were wondering the same thing:

"Who _the heck _is Kagome talking about??"


	2. Room 925

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha. The anime, manga and characters all belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**

**Author's Note: Wow! Thank you to all of you who reviewed and favorited this story! At first, I thought all of you were going to send me some reviews saying, "What the f*ck is the matter with you, you little motha f*cka!" Thank goodness you didn't... O_o Anyways! I find that I can revise this story much easier than actually write it. I'm so glad all of you are still giving this story a chance, and I thank you all very much from the heart of my bottom...That sounds disgusting, but moving on!**

**Chapter Two: Room 925**

Lunch was a delicious slice of pizza with a breadstick. That was the main course of the meal. The drinks and sides were your choice. Students could choose from a variety of salads, fruits, and vegetables. There was also a snack bar on the east side of the cafeteria, just in case you either needed a quick snack or you just don't like the lunch of the day.

Kagome loved this school even more. The principal was funny, she made a new friend, she had all her classes and shared a dorm with her best friend, the food was surprisingly edible. What more could she want? She wasn't sure what else could make this school any better.

Right now, she was sitting at a booth with Sango and Ayame. Kagome had the whole seat to herself since Ayame was teaching Sango how to make a cootie-catcher. Sango, sorry to say, was one of those learners who constantly complained about the complications of a certain task. At the moment, the brunette was shouting at her paper, demanding that it'd fold exactly as Ayame had demonstrated. The redhead sweat-dropped, and hastily tried to reassure the fuming Sango. Meanwhile, Kagome, ignoring the other two, was mentally going over the pros and cons of Shikon High School. Truthfully, Kagome's list of pros was much more longer than the list of cons.

As Kagome munched on her cheese pizza, she people-watched, resting her long legs on the booth seat and crossing them at the ankles. This school had a diversity of students; Skinny and fat, black and white, tall and short, athletic and brainy, introverted and extroverted. No wonder this school was claimed to be one of the best schools in Tokyo.

Suddenly, a passerby knocked Kagome's carton of apple juice off the table. Deliberately. Kagome looked up at the person, only to be met with a chocolate-colored glare. Kagome was taken aback by this person's sudden hatred for her; what did she do to that person? When Kagome got a good look of the girl, she realized that she and this mysterious girl looked a lot alike. Long black hair, brown eyes, pale skin…

"Ugh. It's her," Ayame grumbled before taking a sip of her own juice.

"You know her, Ayame?" Sango asked.

Kagome bent over to retrieve her unopened carton of juice. If it were opened and all her juice had spilled all over the floor, Kagome would've been seriously irritated. But since it the carton wasn't opened at the time…

Ayame nodded as a response to Sango's question. "Yeah, that's Kikyou. She used to go to my old school. I'm surprised that they accepted her into this school." She glanced over at Kikyou's table, which was pretty far away from the booth.

"Is she a bitch?" Sango interrogated, as if she were a news reporter.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Sango, that's a very vague question."

"So?"

"Well…" Ayame said, stirring her straw inside her carton of orange juice. "I wouldn't say she's a bitch _all _the time, but sometimes she, you know, acts bitchy."

"So…she has a good side?" Kagome asked.

Ayame awkwardly shrugged one of her shoulders. "She does, but you rarely see it. One of my friends, Hitomi, claimed that Kikyou helped her once."

"Is that so?" Sango said in a rather unconvinced tone. Kagome could tell Sango already didn't like Kikyou, by the way she was speaking. "Kagome," the brunette sternly said, sounding very similar to Mama Higurashi. "I don't want you anywhere near that Kikyou chick. I don't trust her one bit."

Kagome lifted up a hand and put her cold fingers on her temple. "She knocks over my apple juice, and you automatically hate her?"

"It does sound kind of ridiculous, Sango," Ayame agreed.

"You just said she was a bitch!" Sango exclaimed.

"Only _some_times."

"Ugh." Sango rolled her eyes irritably. "Whatever."

-

After gobbling down the rest of their lunches, the girls headed to the school's vast parking lot to get their suitcases. Ayame was parked much closer to the school itself than Sango, so she offered to accompany Sango and Kagome to Sango's car, and then make a quick stop at her car to grab her own luggage.

"You know, from down here, the school doesn't really look that big," Ayame said, gazing over her shoulder at the school.

"Go to the eye doctor, Ayame; the school is huge," Kagome said. Ayame frowned at Kagome. "Sarcasm, Ayame. Sarcasm!" The girls laughed.

"I seem to remember saying that to you this morning," Sango teased. "Great, now I have two friends who don't know sarcasm when it farts in their face."

"EW! WHAT?" Ayame shouted between laughs. Kagome and Sango were laughing, too.

As they drew nearer to Sango's car, Sango turned to Ayame and asked, "Are you allergic to cats?"

Ayame shook her head. "I'm not, but I'm not much of a cat person either."

"Oh."

"Sango has a cat," Kagome explained, upon seeing Ayame's puzzled expression.

"I see." Ayame's emerald gaze swept over all of the motionless cars in the parking spaces. "Well, I don't mind. I'll do my best not to kick it."

Sango stared wide-eyed at Ayame while Kagome's jaw dropped. Ayame laughed. "I'm kidding!" she exclaimed. "Sarcasm, you two. Sarcasm!"

Sango sighed with relief. "For a second there, I thought you were serious!" She laid a hand on her chest and released another deep breath.

"Yeah, I was going to report you," Kagome said.

Ayame just laughed.

Sango and Kagome yanked out their suitcases from the trunk, plus Kirara's pet carrier from the back seat. As soon as they pulled out all the luggage, the trio of girls stared at the baggage.

"We have a problem," Kagome bluntly stated.

"Okay, maybe there's a way the three of us can get ten suitcases plus a cat into the school," Sango said. She inhaled, then glanced at her friends. "…Any ideas?"

They shook their heads, never removing their gaze from the suitcases.

"Wait a sec!" Ayame abruptly said, causing her new friends to start. "I think they have a luggage cart somewhere inside the school."

"Luggage cart?" Kagome repeated. "Like in an airport?"

"I think so," the redhead replied. She turned her body towards the school. "Want me to check?"

"If you want t—" Sango couldn't even finish her sentence before Ayame dashed off at a rapid pace.

Kagome gaped after the girl with flaming red pigtails. "Do you think she's in track?" she asked her brunette friend.

"I guess."

Kirara meowed from inside her pet carrier.

To pass the time, Kagome gazed up at the giant building she was now to call home. According to the map she was given that morning, Shikon Boarding School had twenty floors. The gym, cafeteria, auditorium, library, and office were all on the first floor. Floors two through five were used for elective classes, such as art, band, choir, and many others. The sixth floor was reserved for science labs. Floor seven had Freshman classes; Floor eight had Sophomore classes; Floor nine had Junior classes; And floor ten had Senior classes. The dormitory rooms occupied the top ten floors. The format of the school seemed easy enough to memorize.

What worried Kagome the most was how the students were to get from, say, the cafeteria to their dorm room. Did they have to take the stairs? Or was there some sort of elevator? An escalator? She wasn't sure, but it seems that she'd have to wait to find out.

"This school would probably be the worst place ever for a kid with acrophobia," Sango stated, leaning back against the side of her car, squinting up against the sun's bright rays at the massive building situated before her.

Kagome nodded in agreement, joining her best friend. They propped their bodies against the vehicle, gazing at the school. Their new home.

"Do you think we'll find love there?" Sango murmured.

Kagome shook her head fiercely. Did she just hear what she thought she heard? "Huh?!" she half-yelled.

Sango's eyes widened a bit when she realized what she just uttered. "Uh, nothing! Never mind!" She turned her head and suddenly found the lamppost several yards away interesting.

"Sango, I could've sworn you just said something about—"

"No, you didn't!"

"Yes, I did!"

"Lies! You're going crazy, woman. You're hearing voices."

Kagome rolled her eyes. Growing up with Sango, she had learned that the brunette was stubborn and always tried to appear strong. Most of the time, she _was_ strong. But what annoyed Kagome a lot was that Sango was such a tomboy, from kindergarten and even now, that she never exposed the feminine side of her to the world. Heck, Kagome couldn't even remember the last time Sango actually wore a skirt!

It was sad, really, how Kagome was a hopeless romantic and Sango just rolled her eyes at the mere mention of the word 'love.' She was like a guy. The kind who thought love was stupid. The kind that groaned in English class whenever the teacher announced that the unit was going to be reading the well-known play "Romeo and Juliet." The kind that walked away whenever she heard a cluster of girls giggling about a cute boy. The kind that thought love was stupid, but was still a good friend. Sango was the type of friend who hated love, but always listened to Kagome pour her heart out about her newest crush or how cute she thought the new guy was.

Kagome crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her gaze from Sango's long brown hair to the clear blue sky. Memories of when she and Sango were in middle school flooded into her mind. There were some depressing moments, such as the death of Sango's mother, and there were humorous moments, like when Kagome discovered her first period ("EEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!! MOM! HELP! I'M BLEEDING IN THE WRONG PLACE!!"). Looking back at these memories, Kagome couldn't help the smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Sango?"

"Hmm?"

"Remember when we sang that song from Lion King? 'He Lives In You'?"

Sango wrinkled her eyebrows in bewilderment. "Um…not really."

"We were singing it one time, and Kohaku came in and was all, 'Who are you guys talking about?! _Who_ lives in me?!'" Kagome laughed out loud at the memory.

"Oh yeah!" Sango exclaimed, remembering. She muffled her laughs, recalling Kohaku's irritated face when the only response he got from the girls were loud guffaws. Once she finished laughing, Sango tried to catch her breath. "Ah, those were the days," she gasped out. She gazed up at the sky. It was such a beautiful shade of blue.

"Hey, guys!" a girl called out from the distance.

Sango and Kagome looked in the direction of the voice. Ayame was hurrying towards them, wheeling a giant metal cart.

"Ayame!" Kagome cried. "Don't _run _with that thing!"

"What?" Ayame shouted, cupping one hand to her ear.

Sango chuckled lightly. "I will seriously die of laughter if she crashes into a car."

Kagome elbowed her friend in the ribs. "Sango!" she hissed.

Somehow, Ayame managed to skid to a halt in front of Kagome and Sango without crashing into anything or anyone. "I found one! There's this dude with a ponytail walking around the parking lot, giving people some carts."

Sango raised a brow. "Some guy's walking around doing that? Like the dudes in grocery store parking lots?"

"Sort of."

Kagome bent over and grabbed two suitcases by the handles. "Well, at least we found a way to get all our crap to our dorm," she said. With the help of the brunette and the redhead, they managed to get Sango's and Kagome's luggage onto the cart.

"Can I ride the cart?" Kagome asked.

"No," Sango firmly replied. Ayame snickered into her hand.

Next, the girls wheeled the cart to Ayame's car, where they hauled all of her luggage on top of Kagome's and Sango's. Finally, they made their way to the school, where they rode an elevator to the fifteenth floor, where Ayame claimed their room was. And, lo and behold, she was right. They stood before the entry door of Room 925, staring at the slick cherry wood. There was nothing remotely interesting about the door; the girls were just too nervous to open it.

"I wonder what our dorm looks like," Kagome spoke up after a long moment of silence. Without even waiting for a response from one of her friends, she turned the doorknob and pushed the door open.

The dormitory's sitting room was nothing special. It was the size of your typical living room. To the right of the entry door was a television situated on a shelf, a glass coffee table, and two black velvet couches. One of the couches was long enough to seat four people, and it was pushed up against the wall. The other sofa was facing the longer couch a fair distance away, with the coffee table positioned in between the pair of sofas. To the left of the entry door was an oak cabinet in the far corner. Straight across from the door was a hallway with a hall closet.

"Hmm, it doesn't look as bad as I thought," Ayame presumed, dragging two pieces of baggage from the metal cart into the dorm.

"As bad as you thought?" Sango repeated, heaving another two suitcases plus Kirara's carrier bag inside. "How bad did you think it'd be?"

"Empty. Like, no furniture at all. You know, like a college dorm." Ayame lugged her set of bags until she got to the hallway. The hallway diverged into two paths, one to the left and one to the right. "Which one's the girls' room?" she called back over her shoulder.

"I think it's to the left," Kagome answered. "Though I'm not so sure."

"No," Sango said. "Myouga said the girls' room was to the _right_."

Ayame shrugged and went to the right. Kagome and Sango remained behind to haul the rest of luggage. Once that was done, Sango shut the door and locked it.

"Uh, Sango," Kagome said. "Shouldn't we leave it unlocked in case the rest of our roommates come?"

The brunette shrugged. "I'd rather not take my chances. What if some freak comes in and tries to rob us?" Kagome sweat-dropped.

"Why?!" Ayame shrieked from inside the small corridor. "Why does it have to be _pink_?!"

Kagome and Sango hurried down the hallway towards the direction of Ayame's complaining.

"What are you complaining about—" Kagome was cut off by a blinding shade of pink that could easily overwhelm one who hasn't seen such a bold hue of pink. Luckily, it was just the walls that were painted That Color; the furniture was painted a neutral eggshell white. There were three four-poster beds with three vanities. To the right of the girls' bedroom door was another door that possibly lead to either a personal bathroom or a closet. To the left was another door. By the looks of it, that door seemed to lead to a walk-in closet.

"These people are so lucky that my favorite color is pink," Sango bluntly commented. She turned around to fetch the rest of their luggage.

"But still…_pink_?!" Ayame protested, motioning to the decorated walls. "Why is it that pink represents girls and blue represents boys?!"

"I don't know, Ayame," Kagome sighed.

The redhead just made a "humph!" noise before spinning around to unpack. Meanwhile, Kagome and Sango pulled the rest of the suitcases into the room. Kagome was doing this quickly before the male half of the dorm arrived…

-

"Where are they at anyway?" Sango wondered aloud. She was referring to the boys that were supposed to move into the bedroom next to theirs.

"Who knows, who cares?" Kagome frantically replied as she shoved her bras and underwear into the bottom drawer of one of the vanities she had claimed.

Sango and Ayame both raised a brow in Kagome's direction, but shrugged it off as they continued to empty out their suitcases on the beds.

Before they started unpacking, each girl had picked a bed and a vanity to claim for the rest of the school year. Kagome chose the bed and dressing table adjacent to the walk-in closet. Ayame selected the bed and vanity nearest the large window with dusty blinds and dark pink curtains ("I swear, if the shower curtains are pink, I will file a complaint to the principal!" Ayame threatened. The shower curtains were white, by the way). The last bed, Sango's bed, was sited a few feet away from the girls' private bathroom ("Warn me if either of you have diarrhea," Sango said to her female roomies).

Afterward, the girls unpacked and organized their personal belongings, all the while, making small talk and learning more things about each other. But, even during the two hours of settling in, none of the females heard a knock on the dorm's entry door. Not one.

"Did you know," Kagome said, to break the awkward silence, "that the world's tallest man-made structure ever built is the Burj Khalifa?"

Sango and Ayame raised an eyebrow once again at Kagome.

"No."

"Didn't know that."

Kagome sweat-dropped. Clearly, the other two were freaked out by her odd behavior. But Sango should know already. After all, Kagome even told her in the car that morning! The truth was that Kagome had this hunch, this bizarre feeling that that dude with the dark blue eyes was going to be her roommate. Maybe she was just feeling paranoid, but she couldn't stop getting all apprehensive about it.

_Knock, knock, knock!_

The girls started. They exchanged wide-eyed looks to each other.

"Who wants to answer it?" Ayame asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I nominate Sango, since _she's_ the one that locked it," Kagome said.

Sango rolled her coffee-colored eyes and shook her head. "You guys are wimps," she sighed out, but headed to answer the front door.

After she left, Ayame leaned closer to Kagome and confessed, "I am super boy-shy."

"I got boy-shy after I signed the paperwork," Kagome whispered back. However, she wasn't exactly boy-shy; more like she was paranoid about a certain guy with navy blue eyes.

"I don't know whether to high-five you or continue to complain," Ayame joked.

Sango reappeared in the doorway before kneeling back down to organize her belongings.

"Who was it?" Ayame asked.

"Oh, it was Myouga," Sango replied.

"The principal?" Kagome asked.

The brunette rolled her eyes. "No, Kagome, the hand soap in the bathroom." Kagome rolled her eyes in return. "Anyway, Myouga told me that our other roommates are helping students settle in."

"Settle in?"

"Yeah, like carrying suitcases, giving tours…And they're also helping the staff set up for the dinner."

"Hmm…" Kagome stared at the ceiling, nodding.

"So our guy roomies are helpful…?" Ayame prompted.

Sango shook her head. "Nah. It's probably because they're returning students."

"Oh." Kagome and Ayame nodded.

Without another word about the male population of their dorm, the girls continued to unpack. However, the females couldn't help but wonder what the boys they were to live with for the rest of the school year were like.

-

"Fuck!"

"Shit!"

"Mother fucker!"

Three boys were holding their sore hands, which were just crushed by moving a table.

"Boys!" Principal Myouga appeared a few feet behind them, arms crossed, scowling. "Mind your language, you potty-mouths!"

"Sorry, sir," the trio grumbled, resisting the urge to list off every cuss word they knew. Once the principal was out of earshot…

"Inuyasha, this was all your fault!"

"_My_ fault?! Yeah, you're the one to talk, Kouga!"

"You said to move it a few feet _that_ way!"

"Yeah, and you went the other way!"

"See? This is _exactly_ why I hate doing shit with you!"

"Likewise!"

The third boy sweat-dropped as he feebly attempted to quiet down his arguing friends. "Calm down, both of you. I'm sure that if we settle this in a peaceful manner—"

"Listen to your perverted friend, Rapunzel!"

"What the hell did you just call me?!"

"You heard me! You need a haircut, but noooo! You insist on looking like a faggot!"

"Speak for yourself, Kouga! You look like freaking Pocahontas with your hair down!"

"Which is why I put it up!"

The nonviolent boy, Miroku, sweat-dropped even more. His friends, Inuyasha and Kouga tended to cause a commotion, especially in public areas. Right now, their classmates that were also helping set up the cafeteria for dinnertime were raising their eyebrows and casting strange looks in their direction. Miroku blushed a bit. He'd always hated receiving attention, especially from a giant crowd. But what's a guy to do if his friends argue on a daily basis?

"_Guys_…" he ineffectually said.

"Idiot!"

"Moron!"

"Doofus!"

"Stupid!"

"Dumb-ass!"

"Shit-head!"

"Fucker!"

"INUYASHA! KOUGA!" Principal Myouga bellowed, glaring at the two disputants.

The boys paused in their fighting. Seconds later…

"Why did he say _your_ name first?!"

"Because I'm cooler than you!"

"TO MY OFFICE!!" Mr. Myouga roared.

Kouga and Inuyasha grumbled, but obeyed and followed their cross headmaster to his office.

-

Kagome sighed deeply.

Not too long ago, an announcement was made that there will be a semiformal dinner held in the cafeteria at 7:30 PM. This, according to the friendly principal, was a time to get to know your roommates. However, Kagome couldn't help but wonder why Myouga sounded kind of…angry? She shrugged it off. It was almost four o'clock, and Kagome was already hungry.

"Do they have vending machines here?" she asked Sango and Ayame.

"Um…" Ayame tapped an index finger on her lips in thought. "I think there's one somewhere by the gym."

"Okay." Kagome grabbed some money from her wallet on her bed and pocketed the dollar bills. "I'll be back; I'm going to buy something real quick."

"Okay," they replied.

Kagome left the dorm, feeling kind of naked. She had no suitcases, no friends to accompany her…She tried to shrug it off, but loneliness wasn't exactly the easiest thing to shrug off. She used the elevator to get to the first floor.

As she neared the cafeteria, she heard the scraping of tables and chairs on linoleum, and students' voices among the scraping noises. She casually peeked in and saw the students, most likely the returning ones that Sango mentioned earlier, were spreading tablecloths over tables and setting up centerpieces along with plates, glasses and silverware. It seemed as if this was going to be pretty fancy-looking for the first dinner of the school year.

The raven-haired girl continued on her way…until she bumped into someone.

"Oh, sorry," she mumbled. She glanced up and saw a rather handsome guy with black hair and friendly violet eyes.

"Oh, it's quite all right." He smiled at her. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

Kagome blushed. She hated being alone with a guy, especially a handsome one like the one in front of her. "Um…is there a vending machine anywhere around here?" she asked him, assuming he was a returning student.

"Hmm? Vending machine?" He scratched the back of his head as he looked around. "If they still have it, it should be right around the corner by the gym."

"Oh, okay. Thank you!" Kagome bowed a bit before scrambling off to finally get something to eat.

_What a nice guy, _she thought.

-

Miroku watched the girl with long ebony hair sprint off towards the gym.

_Looks like a C-cup, _he thought, still looking after her. _Maybe a D…_ He shook his head. _Ugh. No, Miroku! Bad Miroku! _He looked up to look at the girl again, but she'd already turned the corner._ I can't believe it. She looks just like her. Is she Kikyou's sister? Cousin? A relative of some sort? Oh boy…the last thing we need is another Kikyou._

Miroku turned and headed back into the cafeteria. _Still, I wonder what happened to Kikyou. She was so nice up until freshman year…_He rubbed his forehead, which was aching due to listening to his friends' argument. _Ugh, I'm going to kick their asses for this…_


	3. Girls, Meet The Guys

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha. The anime, manga and characters all belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**

**Author's Note: This chapter was super fun to write. Super fun, but very time-consuming! **

**Well, anyways, I just listened to this super awesome song by Lady Gaga. It's called "Monster". For Lady Gaga fans out there, you should totally check out that song. It is very catchy.**

**PLEEEEEEEEEEASE review if you want more updates. That goes for all of my stories. I'm going to be home all summer, so I'll have more time to write stories :) I'm thinking of writing a few songfics, too. Enjoy Chapter 3 and please review!**

**Chapter 3: Girls, Meet The Guys**

An hour or so later, Kagome, Sango, and Ayame had all taken their hot showers and were getting ready for the banquet, dabbing their wet hair with their towels. Ayame and Kagome had already picked out their semiformal dresses for the evening. Ayame wore a knee-length turquoise gown that flared just above the knee, with sparkly green-blue flats to match. Kagome wore a cherry red dress of the same variety as Ayame's, with ivory ballet flats. Sango, on the other hand…

"Guys!"

Before Kagome could even open her mouth to respond, a pair of pants smacked into her face. She sputtered and slapped the denim item away. Ayame, who was seated at her vanity applying her makeup, was doing her best not to laugh out loud and mess up her mascara.

Seconds later, Sango emerged from the walk-in closet, wearing nothing but a towel over her undergarments.

"Sango," Kagome groaned, rolling her eyes away from her nearly-naked friend. "At least make yourself decent."

"Huh?"

"Put some clothes on!"

Sango exhaled a puff of air, making her damp bangs shudder on her forehead. "That's just the problem," she whined. "I can't find a good dress."

"You said your favorite color was pink, right?" Ayame piped up from her corner. She glared at the bright pink bedroom walls for a moment before saying to the frantic brunette, "Why don't you wear a pink dress?"

Sango pouted. "Because I don't have one."

Kagome sighed. "Do you want to borrow one of mine?" she bluntly inquired.

The brunette instantly brightened. "Yes! Can I wear the black one with the pink sash thingy?"

"Well, okay, as long as you don't—"

"Thank you! I love you, Kagome!" Sango disappeared back inside the closet, closing the door to get dressed in privacy.

"Everyone does," Kagome joked. Ayame snorted before turning on the hairdryer she had brought with her. Kagome followed suit, except she was going to use Sango's hairdryer since she didn't have one of her own yet. Sango eventually reappeared, fully clothed. The dress she wore was a black knee-length gown with a V-neck and a dark pink sash tied around the middle. Her big feet were slipped into a cute pair of black kitten heels. Her long brown hair, however, looked stringy and drenched from her shower. She went to her vanity to gather her makeup and hairbrush. Then, she dragged her vanity's stool and placed it next to Kagome, since she was using Sango's hairdryer.

Once both noisy hairdryers were turned off, Ayame turned in her stool to face her roommates. She pointed to her now-dry auburn hair. "What should I do with my hair?"

"Half up, half down," Kagome recommended.

"I'd say leave it all down," Sango suggested. "Maybe add a hair clip or something."

"Oh!" Kagome went to Ayame's vanity and picked up the blue-violet iris the redhead had worn in her hair that morning. "You should wear this!"

Ayame smiled. She plucked the blossom from Kagome's rather clammy hand and began delicately tucking it in her auburn tresses. It was slightly droopy since the flower itself was real and she had picked it from her mother's garden that morning. Ayame hoped that the iris wouldn't slip out from her hair.

Sango turned on her hairdryer and proceeded to dry her long hair. "What about mine?" Kagome asked after the noisy hairdryer was switched off. She was referring to her own long hair.

Ayame thought for a moment. "I think we should all keep our hair down." She shrugged. "I'm just saying."

"I just hope I can de-frizz this afro of mine," Sango said. She pointed to the frizz developing at the crown of her head.

"I hope so, too," Kagome agreed, playfully widening her eyes in mock horror. Sango stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry.

Ayame, after tucking the iris securely into her auburn hair, plopped down on her bed. The bed was already furnished with a blanket, which was printed with silvery-grey wolves, and a pillow. She hunched over and rested her elbows on her thighs. "The guys hadn't come yet, have they?" she mused.

"Well," Kagome said as she ran a brush down her wavy tresses. "It's probably because they're already at the cafeteria. You know how easy guys have it when it comes to getting ready for anything."

"Yup," Sango agreed, nodding. "They can just throw on some decent clothes, brush their hair and go. We girls have to do that plus makeup and hairstyling." She plugged in her flat iron and began applying some foundation while waiting for the hairstyling tool to heat up.

"Makes me wonder why girls seem to be more self-conscious of their appearance than guys," Kagome mulled over.

"Oh, trust me," Ayame said, putting her pillow on her lap and robotically fluffing it up. "I have a bunch of guy cousins, and they spend more time in the bathroom in one day than I do for a whole _week_."

"And do what?" Sango asked between laughs.

"Oh, they tweeze their eyebrows, try on a bunch of outfits, pose in front of the mirror, criticize themselves, style their hair carefully…You know, like most girls do."

Sango raised her eyebrows at Ayame. Then she turned back to Kagome's vanity mirror to properly apply minimal makeup. She blended the ivory-colored foundation with her finger, then brushed on some loose powder. Finally, she began to apply her black mascara.

Kagome, being the second to finish, plunked down on her bed. On the firm four poster was a thick pink blanket with stacks of frilly pillows. It was kind of funny that she had so many cushions because Kagome usually kicked them all off the bed in her sleep. In reality, Kagome only needed one pillow to sleep. Still, who _wouldn't_ want a bunch of pillows on their bed? In Kagome's opinion, it was better to have more pillows than just one.

Kagome gazed around the bedroom, now furnished with the girls' belongings. The closet was brimming with clothing; blouses hung on racks, pants folded on shelves, shoes lined the floor in rows. The small bookshelf in the corner of the room was stocked with books and knickknacks. Everything else that was small or private was stored inside the drawers of the girls' vanities.

But, for some reason, even though a majority of her belongings (with the exception of her furniture) were here in this cozy pink room, Kagome still felt like something was missing. A single element was absent from her accepting that Shikon Boarding School was now her new home.

"What time is it?" Sango asked. She was now slowly running the flat iron down her brown tresses.

"Um…" Ayame pulled her cell phone off of its charger and glanced at the time. "Almost seven."

"Should we just get there early?" Kagome suggested.

"Why, Kagome?" Sango smirked at her best friend through the mirror. "Are you anticipating to see our super sexy roommates?"

"You already met one!" Ayame joked, pointing at herself. The females burst out laughing.

Inuyasha glanced at his reflection one more time through the boys' bathroom mirror. For the first time in almost a year, he was wearing a black tuxedo, and he was currently having trouble fixing his tie. He was never the type of guy who loved to wear ties; secretly, he was always afraid someone would choke him to death with it.

"Wearing black, I see," a cocky voice noted from Inuyasha's right side. "Trying to slim yourself down, fat ass?"

Inuyasha glared at Kouga through the mirror. He eyed Kouga's dark brown tux. "Went to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory to get that suit, asshole?" Inuyasha retorted.

Kouga scowled. He opened his mouth, prepared for an argument, until a third guy interposed.

"Guys, could you just settle down already?" Miroku spoke, making last-minute regulations to his own dark blue tuxedo. "It's barely the first day back and you two already got in trouble for arguing." He glared at his friends, his violet eyes narrowing. "Now, for the sake of our new roommates, will you two get along? Just for tonight?"

"How about we just not talk to each other at all?" Inuyasha suggested, turning his back to Kouga.

"Fine by me," said the latter, rotating his body so that the pair of males were back to back. It was truly a comical sight, seeing two high school students behaving similarly to five-year-olds.

Miroku sighed. He really didn't want to make a bad impression…especially around cute girls. Sure, he hadn't met the female half of Room 925 yet, but he was anticipating seeing them anyway. I mean, come on, they were _girls_. Despite how gentlemanly Miroku seemed at first, he usually got a little "carried away" around girls. No, he didn't act goofy or anything like that; the perverted side of Miroku emerged. This was probably why he, Inuyasha and Kouga were close friends; they were all troublemakers.

Miroku gently pulled up the sleeve of his navy blue jacket to verify the time on his wristwatch. "It's almost seven; we should get going."

The other two nodded and wordlessly followed Miroku to the cafeteria. Miroku was taken aback by their silence; usually, they'd be quarrelling about something stupid, but now…

_This is going to be one strange night, _he thought.

"Oh, great, we have assigned seats!" Ayame groaned. She, Sango and Kagome were standing in the doorway of the cafeteria. The cafeteria, even though there was still more than twenty minutes left until dinner was to be served, was packed with people talking noisily and laughing out loud. The girls originally planned to sit anywhere that had three vacant seats together. The table closest to the entrance, though, had a card with the number '816' printed on it in a large bold font. Assuming it was a room number, Ayame commenced her complaining.

"Jolly," Kagome grumbled. Her sweaty grip on the small clutch purse in her hand tensed up as her chocolate brown gaze swept over the large room. She was kind of hoping she'd somehow magically find their room number with just one quick glance. However, life rarely had those super lucky moments.

"Well," Sango sighed. "We better start looking."

She, Ayame, and Kagome edged around tables, apologizing if their arms or (embarrassingly enough) their butts bumped into someone. They'd trekked almost the entire cafeteria when Ayame abruptly gasped, startling Kagome and Sango.

"I found it!" she squealed. "It's over there." She pointed to a circular table situated at a corner of the cafeteria beside a window. Sure enough, a small card reading '925' in bold was perched proudly atop the ivory tablecloth that blanketed the table.

"Great," Kagome said, rolling her brown eyes. "Of course, our table has to be placed at the end of civilization." Ayame muffled a laugh into her hand while Sango smirked.

"End of civilization, huh?" the brunette snorted. "Look on the bright side. At least we found our table!"

Once again, the girls formed a crooked line and headed to their assigned table. What surprised the trio of girls was that there was nobody sitting at the table. No guys, not even some random stranger taking a break from walking around. The table was so deserted by human beings that none of the girls would be surprised if a tumbleweed randomly bounced by.

"I'm scared," Kagome stated.

"Me, too," Ayame said, her petite body stiff.

Sango rolled her eyes. "Give me a break. Maybe they're running late," she said as she took a seat.

"Sango," Kagome said, sitting beside her brown-haired friend. "They've had _twelve hours _to get here—"

"Maybe they're skipping."

Ayame looked at Sango with a doubtful expression, plopping down in the seat to Sango's left. "Really? I mean, come on now, Sango, the principal told you himself that our roommates were helping set up the cafeteria."

Sango rolled her brown eyes again. She was truly starting to get irritated. "Why do you two care so much anyway?" she asked. Her question, she realized, triggered something in Kagome and Ayame. In a matter of seconds, the their faces were redder than a tomato, and the two were staring down at their laps. But, before Sango had a chance to press them on the subject, she heard a voice.

"Oh, hello!"

The three girls looked up to find a boy standing across the table, smiling at them, two other boys flanking his sides. He had his black hair pulled back into a small ponytail and he also had friendly violet eyes. Kagome instantly recognized him as the boy she'd bumped into that afternoon when she was searching for a vending machine.

"Hey, I remember you—" She was cut off when she saw them. Those blue eyes. Those familiar dark blue eyes that always sent chills down her spine and made her face burn. She froze for a second before shoving her hands back into her lap and staring intently at her thighs.

The boy tilted his head to the side until he remembered. "Oh yeah!" he said, his grin growing even wider. "Now I remember. What a coincidence, huh?"

She nodded mechanically. Why did the blue-eyed boy have to be here? Here at her table of all places?

_Wait, don't tell me he's…_

"I'm Miroku," the boy with the violet eyes said. "And these are my friends, Inuyasha and Kouga." The introduced boys gave a small wave to the girls.

"Nice to meet you," Sango said, smiling politely. "I'm Sango."

"I'm Ayame," the redhead merrily added.

Kagome remained silent. She couldn't even speak anymore. The shock of discovering that the blue-eyed boy, Inuyasha, was her roommate just…It stunned her. She couldn't even move properly, let alone speak.

"…And this is Kagome!" Sango hastily answered for her friend, clapping a hand on Kagome's shoulder.

The boys sat across from the girls. And, pretty much thanks to Kagome, an awkward silence hung thick between the united roommates, almost like a fog bank suspended over the sea. Ayame kept fidgeting, Miroku was twiddling his thumbs, Kouga drummed his fingers, and Sango constantly glanced at Kagome with a puzzled expression. But Sango wasn't the only one looking at Kagome; Inuyasha was, too. Except he was even more puzzled by Kagome's strange behavior than Sango was. Every time she looked at him before this, she panicked and sprinted to a place where she could no longer see him. And now, with no place for her to seek refuge, she just sat there quietly, avoiding all eye contact with everyone, especially with him. It was…weird. Did he really scare her that much?

Kagome's face was flushed with embarrassment. Not only was Inuyasha her roommate, but he was also practically staring her down. She could tell by peeking up at him out of the corner of her eye. Those dark blue irises of his, piercing through her like a knife through melted butter. Oh, how she wished she could duck underneath the table and crouch there until he was gone.

No more than five minutes have passed until Sango broke the silence by saying, "I'm going to head to the ladies' room for a minute. Kagome, can you come with me?"

"Huh? Uh, sure."

Kagome followed Sango. She thought they were truly going to the girls' restroom until the brunette paused just outside the cafeteria's exit.

She whirled around to face a baffled Kagome. "What the hell was that?" she demanded, referring to Kagome's muteness back at the dinner table.

Kagome took a step back. "I-I was nervous!" she stammered.

Sango planted her hands on her hips. "Nervous? What's wrong with just introducing yourself? What's wrong with just saying, 'Hi, I'm Kagome'? Hmmm?"

Kagome blushed, bit her lip, and turned her head to stare at her shuffling feet.

Sango's shoulders slackened from their tense stance. "Oh. I get it." The raven-haired girl's blush grew darker. Sango, now figuring out what was going on with her best friend, spoke quietly so no eavesdroppers could, well, eavesdrop. "You like one of the guys, don't you?" She received no answer from Kagome, but, judging by how red her face was, Sango assumed that was the case. She lowered her voice. "Which one is it? Miroku?"

"Huh?" Kagome's eye twitched. "No! You got the wrong guy!"

"Kouga?"

"No!"

"…Myouga?"

"NO! YUCK!"

"Inuyasha…?"

"There you go!" Kagome realized what she'd kind of confessed, and put her moist hands to her flaming cheeks.

Sango chuckled. "Wow, Kagome. I'm not making fun of you or anything. In fact, I think Inuyasha's kind of cute, too." Kagome was about to open her mouth to respond when Sango shook her head. "I don't like him at all though! I haven't even _talked_ to the guy yet!"

Kagome nodded in understanding. "I get it, Sango."

The brunette smiled a bit. "Look, just relax, okay? Besides—" she nudged Kagome's arm and winked—"I think he likes you, too."

"Sango!" The girl could not hide the crimson blush that once again appeared.

Sango laughed. "Come on." She grabbed Kagome's hand and they walked back to the table. Just before they sat down, waiters began filing out of the kitchen. They went around, serving the entire school the main course for this special evening: chicken with mashed potatoes, green beans and a dinner roll. The waiters also provided the drinks: a simple glass of water with ice.

The six roommates of Room 925 ate and drank in silence, glancing at one another in hopes of starting a conversation. None of them wanted to be the first to speak, yet at the same time they would like to at least talk and get along with each other. But that won't be possible unless one of the roomies summons up the courage to ask a question or come up with an icebreaker.

Miroku finally ended the quietness by clearing his throat and saying, "So, ladies, have you taken a tour of the school yet?"

"A tour?" Ayame repeated.

Kagome shook her head. "No, we haven't." Her voice sounded almost mousy to her.

"Hmm? That's weird." Miroku speared some green beans with his fork. "Someone was supposed to go by every room and help the new students learn the routes to get to their classes and stuff like that."

"Nobody came by our room," Sango informed before spooning some warm mashed potatoes into her mouth.

Miroku turned to Kouga. "Who was in charge of the fifteenth floor?" he asked.

Kouga shrugged. "All I remember is that we were in charge of the nineteenth floor." This was the first time he had spoken at dinner. Inuyasha still hadn't breathed a word. Kouga turned to the girls. "Do you want us to give you a tour?" he offered.

"Sure," Ayame answered. "I don't even know where my homeroom is."

"Well, it should be easy for us to show you around then," Miroku said with a cheerful smile.

Sango tilted her head to the side. "Why?"

"Because," Inuyasha said, finally speaking, "when roommates are put together in a dorm, they have most of their classes together. It makes things easier for the school and for the new students."

"Oh," Ayame said. "So we'll have all our classes together?"

"Not all," Kouga corrected. "Most."

"Probably like seven or eight," Miroku said. "Maybe even nine."

Kagome was relieved that her roommates were finally on speaking terms. She felt as if it were her fault for causing the first major awkward silence. Thank goodness, though, that Miroku was super friendly and nice and helpful. So were Kouga and Inuyasha.

Inuyasha. She finally heard him speak. His voice almost made her faint. It sounded so…manly. Maybe she was just being a hopeless romantic like she usually was, but his voice sounded unbelievably attractive. Oh, how she would love for that sexy voice of his to say that he loved her forever and ever. Those strong arms enveloping her, protecting her from danger. His long midnight black hair flowing in the breeze, a wind swirling his black hair with hers. Those full lips slowly lowering down to hers…

"Kagome?" Sango looked at her dazed friend, who was repetitively stabbing her mashed potatoes with her fork, her attention clearly distracted by either a daydream or a deep thought. Sango looked at the guys, who were staring quizzically at the raven-haired girl. "Uh," said the brunette. "She's just, um, spacing out." The boys nodded slowly, then reverted their attention back to their dinners. Sango, meanwhile, grabbed Kagome's arm and shook it a bit, bringing Kagome back to earth.

"Huh? What—"

"Welcome back, space cadet!" Sango scolded in a whisper. "How was Uranus?"

Kagome snickered. "Uranus…" She muffled her laughs with a hand.

Sango rolled her eyes. "Look, you're making yourself look really bad right now.! They're all thinking you're some kind of freak, especially Inuyasha!"

"Well, I was spacing out. Everyone spaces out at some poi—"

"Kagome, don't blame all of your problems on PMS."

"PMS? I wasn't talking about—"

"Anyways. At least try to be social. We're trying to get along with our roommates, not make them want to pack up and leave the school!"

"I'm pretty sure I'm not that—"

"Act normal!" With that, Sango turned back to the boys and plastered on a polite smile as Miroku told her and Ayame about his freshman year at Shikon Boarding School.

Kagome glanced across the table at Inuyasha. To her right was Kouga, who was robotically prodding the bone of his chicken with his fork. To her left was Sango, who was laughing at Miroku's amusing stories. Across from her was Inuyasha, who was making a small mountain out of his mashed potatoes. It'd be embarrassing if she talked to Inuyasha from across the table. And even if she did talk to him, she'd get all bashful and cause yet another awkward silence. She decided not to try to converse with Inuyasha until she was ready (which, at this rate, will probably be in a month or two). So, since Miroku was already speaking to Sango and Ayame, Kagome decided to befriend Kouga.

"So, Kouga," she said, turning to the silent blue-eyed boy sitting to her right.

"Hmm?"

"Were you at Shikon as a freshman?"

"Yeah, I was." He glanced at Miroku and Inuyasha sitting at his right side. "It's actually how I met these two."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Ironically, we were roommates last year. Miroku was all nice and friendly, but kind of nerdy" —Kagome giggled— "But he was nice! Inuyasha, on the other hand…" Kouga made a face at Inuyasha, who didn't seem to notice; his mashed potato mountain must be more attention-grabbing than Kouga's insults. Kouga rubbed his azure eyes. "Let's just say Inuyasha was different."

Kagome nodded. She wanted very much to press in on the subject, but she didn't want to sound desperate. The last thing she wanted was Inuyasha's friend telling him that she had the hots for him. How embarrassing!

"So, I'm guessing you weren't here last year?" Kouga prompted.

Kagome shook her head. "No. I went to Sunset High School with Sango."

"Oh? I heard that Sunset was getting more students."

She nodded. "It still is. It was super crowded. There were like thirty-something kids in one class, and the hallways were so packed that you were always shoulder to shoulder with someone."

Kouga cringed. "Wow. I'd hate to be in that school."

"It'd be worse if you were claustrophobic."

He nodded. "Oh my gosh," he said, sounding like a Valley Girl, making Kagome laugh. "Have you ever walked next to someone with, like, the worst B.O. you've ever smelled before?"

"Yes! I remember spraying some of my perfume on a guy. Dude, I seriously thought I was going to get beat up."

The conversation went on, and, before she knew it, Kagome felt comfortable with Kouga. He was a total gentleman and he was very funny. Miroku seemed to be quite a charmer as well, from the sounds of Ayame's and Sango's laughter. Inuyasha, though…

_He's all by himself,_ Kagome thought, reflexively cocking her head to the side as she sympathetically gazed at him. _The poor guy. He hasn't said a word to anyone, and nobody's said anything to him either. I wonder if I should say something to him…?_

Minutes later, everyone's tray was empty, with the exception to the chicken bones and silverware. Each roommate's belly was full and stuffed with delicious food.

"I feel pregnant," Ayame said, poking at her bulging stomach.

"Who's the father?" Miroku joked.

"Apparently the chicken," Kagome said. The roommates burst out laughing.

"That is just nasty," Kouga said, trying to muffle his chuckles.

"I didn't know your front door swung that way, Ayame," Sango laughed out. More laughter.

Ayame giggled. "Trust me, Sango. My front door swings normally."

"Okay, good."

"Yes," Kagome said. "The last thing we need is Ayame making out with a rooster." The redhead blushed while the roomies laughed out loud, Sango nearly spewing out her water.

"Yuck!" Sango sputtered, somehow managing to swallow her water before it sprayed out of her mouth all over Miroku.

"Okay, _why_ are we talking about my sexual orientation?" Ayame asked, laughing.

Everyone shrugged. Everyone, that is, except Inuyasha. He was still just sitting quietly, keeping to himself.

"Can we leave yet?" Sango asked, bouncing slightly in her chair.

"Normally, you could," Miroku explained, "But for the first day and special occasions, you have to wait to be excused."

"Ugh." Sango rested her elbow on the tabletop and cupped her chin. "This sucks."

A woman walked by and tapped their table with a long nail. "If you've all finished eating, you may go," she said. She grabbed some of their trays and walked away to put them in the sink in the kitchen.

"Happy now, Sango?" Kouga said.

"That took _forever_!" Sango whined sarcastically.

As the roommates stood up, Miroku asked, "Do you girls still want to tour the school?"

Sango shrugged. "Sure," she answered for all the girls. "Why not?"

"All right." Miroku glanced at Inuyasha and whispered something that Kagome couldn't hear. Inuyasha muttered something back in reply. Miroku clapped a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder and said something else. Inuyasha nodded, turned, and walked away. Kagome wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion. She wondered what was up with Inuyasha.

"Shall we get going?" Miroku said to the girls, smiling.

The girls and Kouga followed Miroku, but, for some reason, Kagome's feet remained rooted to the floor. She turned her head over her shoulder to where Inuyasha was leaving through another exit. Kagome didn't know why she was doing this, but she followed him.

How long had she been running? Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Kagome had no clue, but she was running through a bunch of corridors that she'd never seen before. Why did the first floor have so many strange hallways? Why did she feel like she was going in circles? And, most importantly, why was she stupid enough to follow Inuyasha?

She had been such an idiot for attempting to follow Inuyasha. She had lost him at some point. Now, she was just guessing which routes he took and was darting all over the school. And she thought the school was big on the outside; heck, this place was a damned labyrinth on the inside!

Kagome paused to the side of one passageway, leaning her body against the plaster of the wall. She'll admit two things. One, she was so infatuated with Inuyasha that she wanted to follow him just to be alone with him. And two, she was lost. Hopelessly lost.

She panted, trying to catch her breath from all that running. She rolled her head around, trying to take in her surroundings. The hallway was not as brightly lit as the main hallway, but it wasn't scary-movie-dark either. Still, she was getting chills up her spine. There was nobody else in this endless hallway. It was just her. The eerie silence was almost stifling. Worst of all, though, she was alone.

Did Sango, Ayame and the others even know she was gone? And what about Inuyasha? Where did he go? Did he realize she was missing, too?

Kagome tilted her head back against the wall and sighed heavily. What should she do? She had a really bad case of autophobia. Ever since she was a little girl, she had always been scared of being alone. And now, being here by herself only made her want to scream and cry. Her first day at this new school was going horrible at this point. And it was all her fault; it was she that had made this evening awful. If she hadn't been stupid enough to chase after Inuyasha, she wouldn't be in this mess. Kagome heaved another sigh.

_Someone please help me…_

"Huh? What are you doing here?" an unfamiliar male voice asked. Kagome looked up to see a boy round the corner to her left. He looked at her with curious brown eyes, his long black hair waving randomly down to his waist.

"I, uh…" Kagome bit her lip and blushed. She felt like such an idiot.

"Are you lost?"

She nodded, her blush deepening.

"There's nothing to be ashamed about," said the boy, gently smiling. "This school's really big. It's actually very common for new students to be lost."

Kagome stayed quiet. How was she supposed to respond?

The boy stepped closer to Kagome. She instinctively shrank back against the wall, nearly snapping her spine from trying to merge with the smooth wall.

"Do you want me to escort you back to your room?" the boy asked. He held out a hand for her to take. Kagome looked down at it. It was pale, but rough-skinned. It looked very unusual. Her brown eyes glided up his arms, where there were various minor cuts on his forearms. She looked back up to meet the unfamiliar guy's brown eyes. They looked so friendly and kind, but Kagome couldn't help but feel wary of this guy. Still, this boy was probably her only hope of getting out of this maze and back to her dorm.

Just as Kagome was about to let her soft pale hand clasp the boy's rough-skinned hand, someone else's voice cut in:

"Leave her alone, Onigumo."

Kagome and the guy both looked up to see Inuyasha. Kagome drew her hand back, fisting it above her heart. She watched Inuyasha stalk towards them, his handsome face wearing an irritated scowl, his long midnight black hair flowing behind him.

"I was just being polite to her," the boy, whom Kagome assumed was Onigumo, said. He, like Kagome, pulled his hand back.

Inuyasha's expression darkened. He stepped closer to where Onigumo and Kagome were standing until Onigumo backed away, his face passive. Inuyasha stood in front of Kagome and extended his arm, as if shielding her from the brown-eyed boy.

"Stay away from her," he growled to Onigumo. "If you touch her or even talk to her, I'll kick your ass."

Onigumo's expression did not falter from Inuyasha's threat. Kagome's, however, went from shocked to super shocked.

_Inuyasha's…protecting me?_

"Very well then," Onigumo finally spoke. He turned his body away to leave. Then, he paused. He tilted his head over his shoulder and said to Inuyasha, "I'll see you in class tomorrow." With that, he walked away, his footsteps echoing throughout the empty corridor.

Once the footsteps faded away, Inuyasha let out an inaudible sigh and let his arm drop to his side. Kagome blinked her brown eyes. She was puzzled. Was all this real? She pinched herself to make sure she was awake. She winced. Yup, it was real. Kagome looked up at Inuyasha, hoping he didn't see her pinch herself. His back was still facing her, his black hair glowing almost silver in the hallway's horrible lighting. Suddenly, he turned to Kagome. She widened her eyes a bit, expecting him to snap at her. His large hand lifted up from his side, and Kagome squeezed her chocolate brown eyes shut, waiting for the stinging impact.

She waited. There was no sharp pain. Instead, she felt warmth on her cheek. Her eyes flickered open, and she tilted her head up to meet his midnight blue eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked, the pad of his thumb slowly brushing along her cheekbone.

Kagome flushed. She knew that her face must be super hot by now, and that her hands were sweating profusely, and that her knees were trembling just a bit. She couldn't speak. Inuyasha was acting really weird. He was being…affectionate?

_Inuyasha. He's…he's…!_

Inuyasha seemed to realize what he was doing and yanked his hand back. He shoved it into the pocket of his black dress slacks. "Let's head back to the dorm," he mumbled. He turned and walked away so quickly that Kagome had to jog to keep up.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome wished she hadn't said anything; her voice box and her mouth seemed to have developed a mind of their own. She didn't want to speak, but it was too late to take back what she said. He glanced at her over his shoulder. She blushed madly, then mumbled a "Thank you." Inuyasha stared at her for another second or two before continuing his quick pace to Room 925.

"Where have you two been?" Miroku demanded.

"She got lost," Inuyasha replied, removing his black coat. Behind him, Kagome shut the door and locked it, avoiding eye contact with any of their edgy roommates that were seated on the couches in the living room. Apparently, she and Inuyasha had been absent for longer than she'd presumed.

Ayame held out her hand to Sango. "Pay up," she whispered.

Sango sighed and rolled her eyes, but plunked a bag of Corn Nuts in Ayame's palm.

"You got lost?" Kouga said to Kagome, raising an eyebrow. He crossed his legs. "Where did you go?"

"I was, um…" Following Inuyasha? Not likely. She'd never tell her roommates that, but, by the look of Sango's knowing look, she figured the brunette already knew what her real intention was. "I went to the bathroom," Kagome finally answered. "Then I went to the fifth floor by accident and was looking for you guys. I forgot the Sophomore Floor was on the eighth floor."

Kouga, Ayame and Miroku each raised an eyebrow, and, for a second, Kagome thought they knew she was lying. But then, Miroku stood up and stretched.

He extended his taut limbs. His back cracked a few times. Once finished, Miroku let his arms fall back to his sides. "All right then," he said. "You had us worried, but the important thing is that you came back unharmed." He smiled kindly at her, and Kagome couldn't help but smile back.

"We'll see you girls in the morning," Kouga yawned out. He, along with the remaining two boys, filed down the hallway towards the boys' room. But, before they disappeared from their sight, Inuyasha's midnight blue eyes flickered in Kagome's direction. She blushed, and then there was a resonating click of a door, followed by the sliding of the lock.

"Well, we should head to bed, too," Ayame said cheerily.

"We'll be there in a minute, Ayame," Sango said. "I need to talk to Kagome."

The redhead blinked. "Um, okay. The door will be locked since I'm going to, you know, get ready for bed. Just knock when you want to come in, okay?"

Sango nodded. "Sure." Ayame turned and left the living room. As soon as she heard the door being shut and the lock sliding into place, Sango turned to Kagome. "All right, what _really_ happened?"

Kagome hesitated. Then, in a hushed whisper, she told Sango everything that occurred from their brief conversation during dinner to when she and Inuyasha arrived at the dorm. Once she finished, she looked at Sango for a reaction. The brunette was grinning excitedly.

"Sounds like somebody has a little crush on Kagome!" she sang in a whisper.

Kagome blushed again and stared down at her feet. Inuyasha couldn't possibly like her; they'd hardly spoken to each other! Then again, if Inuyasha really _did_ have a crush on her already, that would explain his odd behavior back on the first floor.

Sango yawned and rose from the couch. "Come on," she said, gently taking Kagome's hand. "Let's go to sleep." She led her dazed friend to the girls' bedroom, knocked, and then, once Ayame opened the door, the three girls got ready for bed.

That night, while in her comfy pajamas underneath the pink blanket, Kagome stared up at the ceiling. The only thing she could think about all night was the way Inuyasha's warm hand cupped her cheek ever so delicately and the way his midnight blue eyes looked so concerned and the way his thumb stroked the soft flesh of her cheek. Kagome placed a hand over her rapidly beating heart.

_Inuyasha…_


	4. The First Day

**Disclaimer: I do not own the anime InuYasha or its characters. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**

**Author's Note: Greetings, everyone! Long time, no update! Well, I've been working my butt off editing Silverlake Boarding School and guess what? I've got a plotline in it! I'm sorry I couldn't say "I finished rewriting the whole story and will be posting up the entire thing!" Sorry, but I'm not that good. I do have a majority of the next chapter already typed up. It just needs some revising. Oh! And this chapter...It's over 13,000 words! That is THE longest chapter I've ever written! Even though my back is killing me and I'm about ready to fall asleep right at my desk, I am finally updating. However, I can't guarantee that the rest of the chapters will be as long as this one. Do you have any how long it took to write this flippin' chapter and then revise it like three times? A LOOOOOOOOONG time! I'm kind of a slow reader and a perfectionist. Not a good combo...Okay, I think I should stop babbling now! PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Chapter Four: The First Day**

The next morning, Kagome's alarm clock practically exploded at 6:30 A.M. Naturally, this made the three girls spring upright in their beds. Sango groaned from her corner of the room, apparently still holding a grudge against the small device when it had unceremoniously awakened her yesterday morning as well. She rolled over and plopped her pillow over her head to mute the noise. Ayame, who was not yet accustomed to such a loud thing, rubbed her emerald eyes and looked around the dark room in bewilderment. Still half-awake, she placed a hand over her sore stomach. The alarm clock's so-called "beeping" caused her to sit up, and now she felt as if she just did a set of painful sit-ups. Wincing, Ayame flopped back onto her mattress and covered her head with the blanket. Kagome simply reached out and slapped the off button with the palm of her hand. Sitting up, she stretched her aching limbs above her head.

"Ugh," Sango spat out from under her pillow. She lifted it up to amplify her voice. "Kagome, get another freaking alarm clock!"

"I was planning on waking up at seven!" Ayame whined from beneath her comforter.

"Sorry, guys," Kagome whispered. She slipped out of bed and fetched a pair of socks from a drawer of her vanity. The reason she was waking up a half-hour earlier than she normally would was to explore the school. If she got lost on the first floor, she couldn't imagine how maze-like the Sophomore Floor could be.

The raven-haired girl went to the closet and flipped on the light switch that was conveniently installed inside. Then, she shut the closet's door to give herself some privacy and to shield her female roommates from the closet's bright light. Kagome grabbed a pair of jeans along with a black blouse and a lacy white undershirt. She stripped out of her nightclothes and pulled on her selected outfit. Then, while standing up, she yanked on her socks and tennis shoes, nearly toppling over a few times.

After getting dressed, Kagome went back into the darkish bedroom and gathered the necessities that lay prepared on her vanity: her cell phone, book bag, iPod, hairbrush, and room key. After that, she quietly slipped into the bathroom to primp herself up. She slowly ran the brush through her tangled mane of raven hair and carefully applied her makeup.

Finally, shouldering on her backpack, she left the girls' bedroom and tiptoed through the dim living room. Once outside in the lit hallway, Kagome made her way towards the cafeteria to eat breakfast. Even from the fifteenth floor, she could smell a hint of waffles and warm maple syrup wafting in the air. Her pace quickened until she reached the dining hall. The cafeteria hardly had any kids inside; the room looked almost empty if you compared the amount of pupils that morning to the number of students at the ceremonial dinner last night.

Kagome grabbed a plastic red tray from a cart and got in line. The yawning lunch lady dropped three golden brown waffles into the main compartment of Kagome's tray. Kagome stood at the end of the line of people, following their example: she grabbed two small containers of maple syrup from a large crate and a carton of orange juice. Then, she sat down at an unoccupied table near a window. It felt weird sitting and eating alone. She felt so…exposed. She tried to shrug it off. Maybe she was just being paranoid.

Hungrily, she used her plastic fork and knife to messily cut her waffles into pieces. For some reason, though, her mind drifted to a certain person.

_Inuyasha…Why can't I get him out of my mind?_ She drenched her crispy waffles with the mouthwatering sweet honey, then used her fork to spear some waffle into her hungry mouth. She rested her head against a hand and gazed out the window. The sun still hadn't risen yet, but it was close. Somehow, this gave the school grounds a bluish tint to it.

_Blue…_

She shook her head. Everything she thought about always revolved back to the boy with dark blue eyes, one way or another.

_Why do I feel so attracted to Inuyasha? I hardly met the guy, and yet here I am, daydreaming about him. _Kagome chewed slowly, savoring the sweet taste of her breakfast. _I'll admit, Inuyasha's really handsome and charismatic, but he's just too…reserved. He kept to himself all throughout dinner last night. He didn't talk to anybody and he looked like he was really deep in thought. I wonder why he acted like that. And how did he seem to know where I was when I needed help last night?_

Kagome closed her eyes, replaying the occurrence in her mind. She recalled every detail—the way Inuyasha firmly stood between her and Onigumo. The way he lifted his arm to keep her behind him. The way he threatened Onigumo if he dared to interact with her. The way he stared into her eyes with concern etched into his own. The way his big, warm hand stroked her cheek…

"Kind of an odd time to sleep, don't you think?"

Her eyes snapped open and she glanced up at the owner of the voice. "I-Inuyasha?" she almost gasped. There he was, standing across the table from her. He smirked down at her. She flushed, shoving her hands into her lap. How ironic that he'd come while she was daydreaming about him. Inuyasha sat down across from her and set his breakfast on the tabletop. "That's all you're going to eat?" Kagome asked, referring to the big bottle of orange juice in his hand.

He looked at it and shrugged. "I don't eat much." He twisted the cap off and took a long drink of the tangy liquid. "So," he said, screwing the lid back on. He wiped his mouth with the back of a hand. "How come you're awake so early?"

"Oh, uh, well…" She fidgeted with her clammy hands on her lap as she searched for the right words. "I was hoping to find my locker and classes."

"By yourself?"

Did he mean that in a teasing sort of way, as a comment about last night? Or was he serious?

Kagome searched his eyes for a hint. Her effort proved to be futile; she couldn't find any clues to whether or not he was serious. His eyes were just an endless abyss of midnight blue. The color of his irises was so dark that she couldn't tell where his pupil was. Yes, his eyes were that dark.

Instead of answering Inuyasha's question, Kagome stayed silent and shoveled some waffle into her mouth. Eating was also a way to refrain herself from demanding Inuyasha for answers about last night. How did he know where to find her? Did he hold a grudge against Onigumo? Why was he so protective of her? The only person who had answers to all eighteen thousand of her questions was the one sitting in front of her, staring at her with those piercing midnight blue eyes of his, still expecting a response. Kagome swallowed her food.

"Why are _you _awake so early?" she retorted, feeling rather childish and immature.

He leaned back a bit, evidently looking a bit surprised at the sudden change in topic. "Working out," he nonchalantly replied with a shrug.

Kagome blushed again. In her mind was the image of a shirtless Inuyasha doing a bench press, salty sweat drenching his tanned skin…

"Hey, are you hot or something? Your face is all red and sweaty," Inuyasha pointed out.

Kagome started. She pulled all of her hair over one shoulder to expose her neck to the air. "Oh, uh, it's a little hot," she said. She fanned her face with her hand. She could already feel drops of sweat beading at her hairline.

He nodded. "I know what you mean. This place is nearly always hot during first semester." He cracked his knuckles. "I took a cold shower this morning, but, even after that, it's still hot in here." He fanned his own face, which Kagome just barely noticed was slightly wet with sweat.

_Inuyasha…in a shower…_

"I think you should get some fresh air or something; you're starting to sweat, too."

Kagome was still fanning herself, trying to dry her face. It wasn't working. "You're right," she said, pushing her half-eaten breakfast away. She was nearly done eating anyway.

"You want to head out on the track?" Inuyasha offered, picking up her tray and standing up.

Kagome stood up as well, her chair skidding noisily behind her. She pushed in her chair along with Inuyasha's before trotting to catch up with her roommate, who was throwing away her garbage for her. "The track?" she asked, panting a bit. "We're not going to run, are we?"

"No." Inuyasha set the tray on a metal cart situated beside a giant garbage can. "We're just going to walk. You know, get some fresh air and cool down. We have about another hour until class starts."

Kagome trailed after Inuyasha, surveying his outfit: a simple pair of dark jeans and a dark, ironed button-up shirt. Even if he was wearing such a simple outfit, he still looked absolutely breathtaking. But this was nothing compared to last night. When Kagome saw him in that sexy black tuxedo, she had to restrain herself from letting her hormones get the better of her. She didn't know why, but she had a thing for guys wearing tuxes. Especially black tuxes.

The early morning was now lit up by the slowly-rising sun. The cloudless sky was the brilliant color of an airborne ocean—a beautiful cornflower blue. The running track had a handful of athletic people jogging, their hair up in high ponytails and their iPods shoved into their shorts pockets. The grass was freshly mowed, permeating a wonderful grassy scent that wafted up Kagome's nostrils. She always loved the smell of fresh cut grass, of fresh air, of nature itself. Those aromas always left her in a state of peace and serenity.

Even though Inuyasha assured her that they weren't going to run around the track, Kagome still had to jog just to keep up with him.

"Hey, can you slow down?" she panted. He glimpsed at her over his shoulder and slowed his pace. "Thank you."

Inuyasha continued walking at a measured pace. He was silent and he just stared straight ahead of them. Kagome did, too, occasionally glancing up at her companion. A lean boy jogged past them, wheezing and breathing heavily. Kagome watched the boy run quickly ahead of them. His shoes were untied, but the boy didn't seem to notice. She shifted her gaze back up to Inuyasha. He seemed unfazed by the joggers.

At this point, the sun was more than halfway above the horizon. It glowed brightly, transforming the entire landscape with its bright yellow glow. Earlier that morning, the field had a bluish tint; now, it had a golden tone. Kagome watched the sun gradually rise. There was nothing like watching the sunrise—well, actually, the sunsets were more beautiful—but it was a rare moment for Kagome to watch a sunrise. Usually, at this time, she would be sleeping or hastily getting ready for school.

Suddenly, Kagome lost her footing and fell to the ground, scraping her hands badly. She winced. "Ouch," she hissed.

"Are you okay?" Inuyasha asked, kneeling down beside her.

She sat up and stared at her hands. "I'm fine, but—" She winced again.

"Let me see." Without even waiting for her approval, he grabbed her hands and inspected them. His dark blue eyes flickered up at her. "Do you want to go to the nurse?"

She nodded eagerly.

"Well, there's not much I can do for you," Nurse Kaede said. She planted her hands on her hips.

Kagome looked down at her red hands. She had just run her hands under cold water, like the nurse told her. Then, Kaede had wrapped her hands up in gauze. It wasn't much, but the stinging didn't hurt as much as it did five minutes ago. "Well," Kagome said. She looked up at the nurse and smiled at her. "Thank you anyway."

Kaede smiled back at her.

Kagome rose from her chair and left the nurse's office. Just outside the doorway was Inuyasha, who was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. Frankly, Kagome was surprised to see that he had been patiently waiting for her; she thought that he would've left to go to class or something. But no…he was there. He looked up from the ground, his eyes meeting hers. "Ready?"

She blinked. "For what?"

He looked at her as if she were an idiot. "To go to class," he said slowly.

"Oh!" She ducked her head to hide her blush and nodded.

She followed Inuyasha, trailing behind him like a lost puppy. Why was it that she felt so incredibly vulnerable around Inuyasha? Was it natural? Or was it just her? She spared a glance at his back. He was taller than her, of course. The top of her head barely reached his shoulders. She felt so small and fragile next to him. And, looking up at him, she felt this peculiar inclination to reach forward and enfold him in her arms…

"Good morning, Inuyasha."

That voice.

Inuyasha stopped, but Kagome wasn't quick enough to react. She bumped into his back. This minor collision didn't faze Inuyasha one bit; his dark blue gaze was focused solely on the person that bid him a good morning. Curious, Kagome peered around Inuyasha and saw Onigumo.

Onigumo's gentle brown eyes flickered in her direction for a fraction of a second. He and Inuyasha were currently having some sort of tense staring contest.

Inuyasha took a small step to the side to block Kagome from Onigumo's view.

"Relax, Inuyasha," said the brown-eyed boy. "I had no intention on saying anything to her; I was just greeting you."

Kagome heard Inuyasha rumble quietly. It kind of sounded like a growl.

_What's with him? _she thought. _Why does he hate Onigumo so much? _Without thinking, Kagome placed a gauze-wrapped hand on Inuyasha's back. He stopped growling. And then, there was the longest, most awkward silence ever. Kagome wasn't sure what the two guys were doing, since Inuyasha was still positioned in front of her, his back to her. However, she assumed that they were still staring each other down. Or in Inuyasha's case, glaring.

Suddenly, Inuyasha mumbled, "Good morning, Onigumo."

Without another word, Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's wrist and dragged her to the elevator. The thick doors slid shut, obstructing Onigumo's retreating form from Kagome's view. Inuyasha and Kagome stood inside the elevator, yet another awkward silence hanging between them like a fog bank.

Kagome glanced down at Inuyasha's hand, which was still clamped around her wrist. His hand was so warm against her cold flesh. It felt strange. And yet, it felt so right. But then, Inuyasha retracted his hand from her and shoved it inside his pocket.

"Inuyasha?"

"Hmm?"

"What…?" Kagome tucked her bottom lip under her teeth, trying to find the words to finish her question. "Why do you hate Onigumo so much?"

Inuyasha kept his gaze focused straight ahead, but she could see the tension in the muscles of his jaw. She could see the hatred flashing in his midnight blue eyes. She could see his irritation in the crease between his dark brows. And now, she instantly regretted asking that question.

"Never mind that," he harshly said, still not looking at her. "I want you to stay away from that guy."

"Why? What'd he do?"

He looked even angrier. Kagome wanted to cower away from him, but she also wanted to know why he was so bitter to Onigumo. Not that she liked Onigumo or anything; she just wanted to understand Inuyasha's situation. She was about to demand Inuyasha what was the relationship between him and Onigumo when he spoke again.

"Just stay away from him."

That was all he said. And, for the rest of the elevator ride, Inuyasha and Kagome remained silent.

Homeroom. This period was supposed to be some sort of advisory class and a study hall put together. Kagome didn't understand why it was the first class of the day. Back at Sunset High, homeroom was scheduled the fifth class of the day. She just shrugged it off. Who truly cared about what period homeroom was? Right now, the only thing that she really cared about was what was up with Inuyasha.

Kagome rested her chin on a hand, apathetically watching her fellow classmates file into the room. She didn't know anybody in her homeroom, aside from her roommates, of course. But none of them had arrived yet. Thirty minutes earlier, Inuyasha had dropped her off at the classroom and departed without another word. Not even a temporary goodbye. It saddened Kagome.

She shook her head. _I shouldn't let some jerk I hardly know bring me down! _Kagome thought. She rummaged through her backpack and searched for her cell phone. At the top of the screen, there was an icon of a small envelope, meaning she had received a text message. It was from Sango.

"_So where'd you and Inuyasha go this morning? ;)"_

Kagome rolled her eyes. It amazed her how well Sango knew her. Just as she was about to text back, Kagome caught a glimpse of Sango, who was wearing her favorite pink T-shirt along with a simple pair of blue jeans.

"So…?" Sango prompted, slipping into the seat to Kagome's left. She leaned closer and raised her thin eyebrows, expecting an answer.

Kagome traced the pad of her thumb over the keys of her phone. "Inuyasha confuses me," she said quietly, trying her best to hold back a blush.

"Is that so?" Sango scooted her entire desk over. "Give me all the details." After a few minutes of Kagome explaining what had occurred during the last hour, Sango raised a brow. "You're right," she said, slouching in her seat and stretching. "Inuyasha _is_ a freak."

"Sango!"

"What? Come on, admit it. He's weird."

"Yeah, sure, he's different, but—"

"Make up your mind! Don't you think he's kind of a weirdo?"

Kagome looked away, still fingering her cell phone. Sure, Inuyasha wasn't your typical Prince Charming, but there was something about him that attracted Kagome. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something about his mysterious behavior that just made her wish she was the lucky girl that could be enveloped in his strong arms.

"You are attracted to very strange people, Kagome," Sango bluntly noted, examining her chewed-down cuticles.

Kagome looked at her best friend. "What?"

"Don't say you've never had weird crushes. Remember last year? You liked what's-his-name…? Oh yeah, Akitoki Hojo. _Hojo_." Sango made a face, as if the very name made her want to hurl. "Seriously, Kagome, I was ready to spit in your food every time you gushed about him at lunch." The brunette winced again and made an exaggerated vomiting noise to emphasize how truly disgusting she thought Kagome's crush from last year was.

The raven-haired girl rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Sango. Hojo wasn't _that_ bad."

"Oh, really?" Sango cleared her throat and counted off her fingers, "He lectures you about your health. He looks like a nerd. He's dumber than a stick. He's nosy. He's stupid. He's an imbecile. He's a _big, stupid, ugly, dumb_—"

"Sango."

"—_brainless, foolish, ridiculous, fat, spineless_—"

"Sango…"

"—_gutless, boring, unintelligent, senseless, scrawny_—"

"Sango."

"—_cowardly, wimpy, idiotic, dimwitted, useless_—"

"Sango…"

"—_foolish MORON_." Sango took a deep breath and turned to Kagome. "What?"

Kagome massaged her temples with her fingers. "I was going to tell you to stop, but apparently you're already done."

"I could keep going if you—"

"No!"

Sango blinked, and then shrugged. "How are your hands?" she asked.

Kagome took a quick look at her bandaged hands. "Eh, they're getting better. I'll survive." She looked around the classroom, which was half-filled with students. "Where's Ayame at?" she asked, combing her fingers through her raven hair, which was already starting to naturally wave despite the fact that she'd straightened it last night.

"Still getting ready," replied the other girl with a shrug. She pulled a long piece of brown hair over her shoulder and began mindlessly braiding it. "She seemed pretty anxious about school when we woke up at _seven_." She glared at Kagome, clearly still irritated at being woken up a half-hour too early.

"Good morning, Sango! Good morning, Kagome!"

The pair of girls turned to see Miroku strolling in with a yawning Kouga trailing behind him. "'Morning, Miroku," the girls chirped back. Miroku sat behind Sango, and Kouga plopped onto the seat in front of Kagome.

That was when Kagome noticed the small cut on Miroku's forehead just under his bangs. "What happened to your…?" She pointed at his forehead.

"Huh?" Miroku's hand flew up to cover the small red scar. "Oh, it was just a little accident. No big deal."

Kouga rolled his azure eyes. "Your alarm clock woke him up," he said to the girls in a blunt voice. "He fell off his bed. I have no idea how he got a cut, though. Maybe he hit his head on the dresser—"

"Shut up, Kouga!"

Kagome tried to stifle a giggle behind her hand. Sango smirked, her cheeks bloated with air as she tried to hold in a laugh. "I don't know whether to laugh or apologize," Sango squeaked out. Suddenly, she burst out laughing, holding her stomach. Kagome joined in, apologizing between muffled giggles. Miroku blushed and glanced around awkwardly until the laughter ceased.

"Hey, what happened to your hands?" Kouga asked a red-faced Kagome, who was catching her breath. He was most likely changing the subject for poor Miroku's sake.

"Huh?" Kagome kept forgetting that her hands were bandaged. "Oh, uh, I tripped and scraped my hands."

"Does it hurt?" Miroku asked.

"It stings, but I'll be fine."

"So," Kouga asked the girls, "what class do you two have after this?"

"Uh…" Kagome looked to Sango, who rolled her eyes and pulled out her schedule from her jeans pocket.

"We have World History with Kaguya next," the brunette read off from her crumpled white card.

"We do, too," Kouga said, motioning to himself and Miroku.

"I heard that Kaguya was a really cool teacher," Miroku put in. "She's kind of strict, but she's funny."

"And loud," Kouga added. "So it'll be hard to sleep in her class." He leaned back in his chair. "But she's nowhere near as loud as Abi."

"Abi?" Sango asked. "Who's Abi?"

"Her name's actually Ms. Abi-Hime, but she insists that everyone calls her Abi. She's the girls' PE teacher."

Sango and Kagome exchanged looks. Sango glanced down at her schedule. "We have her eighth period."

Miroku noticed the uneasy looks on the girls' faces. "Oh, don't worry, you two," he said cheerily. "Abi's loud, but she's really nice."

The warning bell rang. This bell was a signal that alerted students that they only had one minute to get to class before the official bell rang for class to start.

Seconds after the warning bell chimed, Ayame skidded into the room, wearing a black T-shirt with a red heart on it, a pair of jeans, and ballet flats. Her hair was up in its customary two pigtails. She was panting for breath as she plunked down in the desk in front of Sango. "Am I late?" she puffed out, mostly to Kouga and Miroku, since they knew more about the school's systems.

"No," Kouga answered, shaking his head. "That was just the warning bell."

"Oh. Good." Ayame folded her arms on her desk and laid her head on them, still trying to catch her breath.

Kagome glanced at the door, wondering where in the world Inuyasha was.

"I wonder where Inuyasha is," Miroku said, as if reading Kagome's mind.

"Eh, probably skipping already," Kouga carelessly replied, shrugging his shoulders. Suddenly, he let out a loud painful grunt as a fist collided with the top of his head.

Inuyasha's eye twitched irritably as he walked past the whining Kouga and sat down behind Kagome. She blushed madly and tried not to turn around and demand where the hell he was for the past half-hour.

"Where were you this morning?" Miroku questioned. _Wow, _Kagome thought, _he _must_ be a mind-reader!_

Inuyasha cracked his knuckles. "I was talking to Toutousai. He asked to speak with me yesterday after dinner."

"What does he want?" Miroku pressed.

"He wants me to join the football team." Inuyasha leaned his head against a hand. At that moment, the bell rang.

"Wow," Ayame commented. Apparently, she had been listening as well. She sat up and turned in her seat. "Are you going to join?" she inquired Inuyasha.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm thinking about it."

Miroku was about to open his mouth to respond when the homeroom teacher, Ms. Tsubaki, clapped her hands to get the class's attention. She was a thin woman with long white hair and gorgeous cerulean blue eyes. For the rest of the period, though, Tsubaki pretty much just gave the usual first-day-of-school lecture on having a good start of the school year and all that junk.

Just as Kagome was getting drowsy, the bell rang, ending first period just as she was laying her head down upon her folded arms.

After every period, when the bell rang, the students had a ten-minute passing period, which they could use to either socialize or get to class early. Kagome decided to use this passing period to find her locker, find her World History class, and maybe even explore the Sophomore Floor a bit (assuming she had extra time). At least, that was her plan until a hand clapped down on her shoulder. She glanced up at the owner of the hand.

She was about to react when he cut her off. "Have you found your locker yet?" Inuyasha brusquely asked.

Kagome shook her head. _What is up with this guy? One second, he's sympathetic and caring and friendly, the next he's a total jackass. What's going on?_

"What's your locker number?" he said. He sounded all business to Kagome.

She glanced around, only to find all of her other roommates, along with their classmates, had already departed. She rummaged through her backpack until she found her schedule, which also had her locker number on it. "It's…8E-276," she read aloud. _Wow, that sounds complicated…_

Without another word, Inuyasha walked past her. She grabbed her backpack and jogged after him. This guy seriously _was_ a freak. He acted weird, he seemed bipolar, he was constantly silent, he stared at her a lot, and he was an unnaturally fast walker. Did he really expect her to keep up?

She trailed after him, weaving through the masses of students. Whenever they were winding through big crowds, Kagome reached forward and grasped the sleeve of his shirt to avoid being separated from him. That's when she noticed that he didn't even carry a backpack—just a binder and some notebooks. She wondered whether Inuyasha was a straight-A student or a delinquent. Appearance-wise, it was hard to tell. Eventually, though, they made it to her locker, 8E-276.

"You think you'll be able to find it on your own next time?" Inuyasha said. He stared at her, his eyes almost bored-looking.

"Uh…"

"Guess not." Inuyasha sighed, running a hand through his bangs. "Just ask me to help you if you ever need to come back here."

"Um…" Kagome shuffled her feet. Inuyasha waited. "Why are you…?" She lifted her head to meet his inquisitive gaze. "Why are you helping me?"

The question just came out. She couldn't refrain herself from blurting that out. She didn't think before acting. And now it was too late to take it back, to reverse time so that she'd never asked the question.

Inuyasha scowled and turned his head away. "Look, is it a crime for me to help a new student?"

Kagome flinched at his harsh tone. She clenched a hand above her breast and looked up at him. He was glaring at her now, as if he wanted to beat her right there. She bit her lip and looked away. And then, once again, she acted before she thought.

She ran away.

"Once again, I'm lost," Kagome sighed. She stared at the number of the room she just passed: 892. She was supposed to be in Room 825 in two minutes. She groaned and pushed her bangs back from her forehead.

_I shouldn't have run away. I should've stayed with Inuyasha. I should've apologized to him and asked him to take me to class. _Kagome tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling as she continued walking aimlessly. _Ugh, I'm such an idiot._

She took in her surroundings. She was in a hallway that was almost secluded except for a small cluster of students here and there. Other than that, she was pretty much in the empty half of the Sophomore Floor, away from civilization.

_Why do I always seem to get lost at the worst moments? It's like I always want to get somewhere, but I somehow end up getting lost and never being able to find my way out…_

Suddenly, her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and flipped it open. It was a text from Sango, which read:

"_Where are you? Class is about to start!"_

It was true. As soon as she finished reading the text, the warning bell rang. Kagome was now hopelessly lost. And class was about to start. How lame—being tardy on the first day of school because you ran away in embarrassment from your crush.

"Damn, you have a bad sense of direction!"

Kagome almost cried tears of joy at the sound of the familiar voice. "Inu—"

"Look, I'm risking my attendance for your sake, so you'd better be grateful!" Inuyasha glared down at her, his teeth clenched. He was prepared for another argument, but Kagome felt her heart swell with relief. She was in no mood to fight whatsoever.

The corners of her lips tugged upwards a bit. "I am grateful."

His shoulders relaxed and he stared down at her in stupefaction. At that moment, the bell rang, but neither Inuyasha nor Kagome reacted to it. They just stared at each other.

"So!" Kagome said, breaking the silence. She looked down at her schedule. "Where's Room 825 at?" She reached forward, and, without thinking before acting once again, she reached for his hand. He didn't move nor flinch when her bandaged palm touched his warm one. Kagome held Inuyasha's hand, not even caring about her attendance or the fact that her phone was incessantly vibrating from Sango's frantic text messages. All she cared about was the fact that she was holding hands with Inuyasha.

"Mr. Takahashi. Miss Higurashi." A woman with long black hair and gorgeous sapphire blue eyes crossed her arms over her chest. She, along with the rest of the class, stared at the two newcomers. She raised one questioning eyebrow. "Care to explain why you two are late?"

"Um…" Kagome shuffled her feet until Inuyasha reached into his pocket and pulled out a pink slip of paper.

"We have a pass," he said, handing the paper to the teacher.

_We do? _Kagome thought to herself. She stared at Inuyasha incredulously. _When did he get a pass?_

Ms. Kaguya's blue eyes skimmed the paper before she subtly raised her brows. "Okay then," she said. "You're off the hook. Have a seat."

Kagome, still in a state of shock, followed Inuyasha to the back of the room toward the only two unoccupied seats. She sat behind him, staring at his long black hair until someone else caught her attention. Sango, who was sitting three rows to Kagome's left, was giving Kagome the most frantic and confused look ever. She motioned to her cell phone in her lap, mouthing '_Why haven't you texted back?_'

Kagome whipped out her phone and quickly texted Sango: _"I'll explain after class."_

Once she received it, Sango read the message, then looked at Kagome and nodded in understanding.

"Sango!" Ms. Kaguya barked.

The brunette nearly toppled off her seat from surprise. "Yes?" she asked, straightening up in her chair.

"Come up here." The teacher motioned to a small table at the front of the room, where an electronic pencil sharpener was set up beside five pencils.

"Uh…okay?" Sango slid out of her seat, subtly pocketing her phone. She stood beside Ms. Kaguya, raising a questioning brow.

"I'm going to ask you a quick history question. But, while I'm asking you the question, you have to sharpen these five pencils."

Sango, along with the rest of the class, looked at her funny. Was this some kind of teacher prank?

"Okay?" Ms. Kaguya prompted.

"All right." Sango still sounded unsure. She was getting paranoid now. What if the pencil sharpener exploded? What if the pencils were actually vicious stick bugs? What if there was some pit that randomly appeared underneath her feet like in the cartoons? Sango was getting really insecure, but, after making sure it wasn't a ferocious stick bug, she forced herself to pick up a pencil. She glanced at the teacher, who wordlessly nodded her head once, a cue for the student to begin sharpening pencils.

The pencil sharpener was loud, and when Sango looked over at Ms. Kaguya, she saw that the elder woman's red lips were moving, but Sango couldn't hear, nor could she read lips.

Sango pulled the pencil out of the sharpener. "What?" she asked.

The teacher raised her thin black brows and nodded her head to the loud device beside Sango. Sango quietly sighed, but kept sharpening. The teacher kept speaking while the sharpener did its job. Sango could only shout "What?" over the noise of the contraption. Some people in the room started to snicker at Sango's yelling. When Sango finally finished sharpening all five pencils, Ms. Kaguya told her to set the writing utensils down on the table and then head back to her seat.

Still puzzled, Sango obliged.

Ms. Kaguya turned to the class. She said, "I bet you guys were wondering 'What the heck was the point of that,' weren't you? Well, it was to explain two of my rules. Don't sharpen your pencil while I am talking and always follow instructions. Sango did follow my instructions to sharpen the pencils while I said the question, but at the same time she broke my first rule. The other reason that I made Sango do that was because it was funny." The class snickered, some pupils glancing at Sango for a reaction. She was trying to look casual, but the scarlet blush on her face confirmed that she was extremely embarrassed for being put in the limelight.

Kagome tried to stop giggling, but it was harder than it sounded. She looked up in front of her only to meet the jet black hair of Inuyasha. She immediately sobered up and cleared her throat. She didn't want to annoy Inuyasha (she thought that her own laugh was bothersome). But then, she realized something: Inuyasha wasn't laughing. He was sleeping!

The bell rang. The class packed up and moved about the room. Kagome rose from her seat and stretched. World History class was long, but kind of fun since the teacher was entertaining.

At the front of the room, Sango was waiting. She had her phone out, most likely texting an old friend back at Sunset. In front of Kagome was Inuyasha, who had fallen asleep the entire period. Kagome shoved her pencil and notebook, which remained unused since the first day was usually crammed with lectures and introductions, into her satchel. Once again, she glimpsed at the hunched-over figure of her male roommate.

Kagome reached down and gently shook his shoulder. He stirred and finally lifted his head. He wiped the sleep out of his eyes, looking around the classroom with a look of bewilderment. Then, he glanced up behind him, most likely to find out who had the nerve to wake him up. When he saw that it was Kagome, he just stared at her for a second or two before grabbing his binder and notebooks, and quickly leaving the room.

Sango, who had watched the whole thing, wrinkled her brows. She went up to her best friend and quietly mumbled, "Creepyyyy…!"

Kagome elbowed her friend in the arm. "Shut up," she hissed. Deep down, she was worried that Inuyasha had supersonic hearing or something, and that he was able to hear Sango's commentary.

"So…?" Sango prompted. She must've been anticipating hearing Kagome's real reason for being tardy to second period.

Kagome hesitated. Then, she told Sango about everything that'd happened during the passing period after homeroom. Sango raised her eyebrows after the raven-haired girl finished her story.

"He mysteriously found you again?" Sango said in disbelief.

"Yeah. It's so weird." Kagome shook her head, and then ran a hand through her wavy black hair.

"Definitely." The brunette heaved a sigh. "So, he seems to like you, but his way of expressing it is by rescuing you when you get lost and protecting you from that Onigumo dude."

Kagome blushed. "He doesn't like me, Sango," she said. "He's just being helpful."

"Helpful?" Sango snorted. "I'd gotten lost like fifty times today, but you don't see Miroku appearing out of the blue to help me."

The raven-haired girl nodded. "True." All of a sudden, her head whipped up. "Wait. _Miroku_?" Sango's coffee-colored eyes widened, and then her face was instantly stained scarlet. Kagome smirked and subtly raised her brows in satisfaction. Her expression looked similar to a mischievous little sister who had just discovered a dirty secret about her older sibling. "You like him, don't you?"

"N-No!"

Kagome's smirk only grew wider. "You're a bad liar."

"Shut up!"

"There you are!" cried a bubbly voice. Ayame appeared between the pair of friends. "I was looking for you guys."

"Oh," mumbled the other two in unison.

"So, Kagome," Ayame said, turning to Kagome, who was walking at her right. "Where were you and Inuyasha last passing period?"

"Oh, uh…He was showing me to my locker, and then we got kind of lost on the way to class." It wasn't entirely a lie. Just the second half.

"Oh." Ayame nodded. "Yeah, if Kouga and Miroku weren't here, I don't know _what_ I'd do. I'd probably end up in the basement by accident."

"Ayame," Sango piped up, "there isn't a basement in this school."

"Exactly."

Sango wrinkled her brows in confusion. Kagome laughed out loud.

"Ugh, math was horrible!" Ayame groaned after third period had ended.

"Tell me about it," Kagome mumbled as she heaved her book bag over her shoulders.

"But math is one of the most useful subjects in life," Miroku pointed out.

"Yes," Kouga sarcastically said, "because I would love to graph parabolas and hyperbolas and all that stupid stuff in my spare time."

"Well, uh…" Miroku scratched the back of his neck. "I was talking about the basic stuff. You know, adding, subtracting…"

"So why do we have to learn all this crap?" Sango asked, holding up her math textbook, which their math teacher (and homeroom teacher) had just distributed to the class. Her roommates shrugged.

"What do we have after this?" Ayame asked.

"Japanese language," Miroku answered.

"Ugh," Sango and Kouga groaned in unison.

"My name means…dog demon?" Inuyasha said with incredulity.

"Relax, Inuyasha," Miroku said cheerily, patting his friend on the back. "I'm sure your parents had a good reason for naming you that!"

"What?" Sango said. "What parent in their right mind would name their poor child—" Kouga and Kagome both slapped their hands over Sango's mouth before she could say anything else.

"Thank you, Sango," Inuyasha bluntly said. "At least _she_ agrees that my name is weird!"

"Well, I like the name Inuyasha," Ayame said. "But the meaning? Yeah, not so much."

"_Thank_ you!"

"Be happy that your name isn't fish-related," Sango pointed out. In Japanese, her name meant coral.

"Coral's actually a color, too," Kouga said.

Sango rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. "Wonderful! I'm named after a _color_!" Sango was the queen of sarcasm.

"I'm surprised Kohaku wasn't named Blue or Green," Kagome said. "Otherwise, I would've laughed in his face."

"Such a compassionate friend," Ayame teased.

"Actually," Miroku said. "Kohaku means amber."

"Ugh!" Sango shouted. She stomped off, most likely going to call her parents and yell at them for naming their children after colors. She ignored Kagome's loud "HA!" behind her.

Art started and ended faster than Kagome had expected. She, Sango, and Ayame had doodled ridiculous pictures of each other. At some point, Sango drew the line when she sketched a quick picture of Kagome and Inuyasha getting all lovey-dovey. Kagome yelled at Sango while the brunette just childishly stuck out her tongue and held the paper out of Kagome's reach. Ayame had no clue what the girls were squabbling about and at some point interrupted their dispute to show them her picture of a cross-eyed chicken eating a pineapple. Kagome and Sango had paused their fight for a few seconds, only to have yet another argument about whether or not a chicken eating an entire pineapple was possible. Ayame just sighed and plugged her ears with her fingers for the rest of the period.

On their way to lunch, Kagome threatened Sango to tear the doodle of her and Inuyasha up. Sango just ignored her and talked to Ayame. Eventually, Kagome gave up on making Sango get rid of that drawing; knowing that idiot, Sango would probably put it in her scrapbook or tape it somewhere where only she could see it. One of Sango's favorite pastimes was teasing Kagome. And what better way to make fun of your friend than their crush?

The cafeteria was packed with people, since the entire student body had sixth period lunch. Sure, the lines were long, but this period was over an hour long. Plus, aside from the four lunch lines, there were also a handful of snack bars open.

Sango, Ayame, and Kagome got into one of the lunch lines. While Ayame and Sango chatted about how much they hated PE, Kagome observed their surroundings. Unlike last night, there weren't any assigned seats. It was both good and bad. Good, because the students could sit wherever they'd like. However, it was bad because Kagome had no idea where the rest of her roommates were.

"Hey, guys?" Kagome interrupted her two friends' conversation. They looked at her. "Where do we sit?"

"Oh!" Ayame said. "Aren't we sitting with the guys?"

"Where are the guys?" Sango slowly asked.

"Good question."

The girls got their lunches and looked around. They were frankly disappointed and embarrassed to find that every table was occupied by people.

"Where do we…?" Ayame trailed off. The other two shrugged their shoulders.

"There you are!" a voice cried above the noise of the students' chatter. The girls turned to find Miroku jogging up to them. He smiled at them, and then nodded towards the exit. "Come on, we're eating outside."

The girls followed Miroku, weaving through masses of upperclassmen and dodging around giant garbage cans until they made it to a thick metal door. Miroku rested his lean body against it to push the door outwards and held it open for the three girls. He pointed straight ahead.

"It's right over—UGH! You've gotta be kidding me!" Miroku started to run towards the base of a large tree, where Kouga and Inuyasha were sitting. "Inuyasha, stop throwing my tator tots at Kouga! I'm eating those, you know!"

Once the girls realized what was going on, they burst out laughing. Inuyasha and Kouga were having a mini food fight, except they were throwing Miroku's food at each other instead of their own food.

"He started it!" Inuyasha shouted, pointing at Kouga.

"What?" Kouga bellowed. "I didn't start it! I just told you that you had ketchup on your face!"

"Yeah, after you _squirted_ some ketchup on me!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"MY. TATOR. TOTS," Miroku roared, pointing to all the tots that lay scattered in the grass.

The trio of laughing girls went to sit by the arguing boys. The boys looked at the girls and instantly quieted down, each one blushing and attempting to hide it.

"Here, Miroku, you can have my tator tots," Sango offered, pushing her tray towards him.

Miroku shook his head as he sat down. "No, it's okay."

"You can take them, Miroku," Kagome said as she ripped open a ketchup packet. "Sango's weird enough to not like tator tots."

"You don't like tator tots?" Ayame and Kouga said in unison.

"Jinx," Ayame said, "you owe me a soda." Kouga just rolled his eyes.

Sango shrugged. "I don't know. I just don't like them," she responded. "I guess I'm more of a French fry person." She took a sip of her iced tea.

"Who _doesn't_ like French fries?" Miroku agreed. He looked down despondently at his nearly empty tray. All that was left of his once-appetizing lunch was his dessert, which was two chocolate chip cookies, and a carton of chocolate milk. Everything else was scattered across the grass—his salad, his hamburger, his tots. He glared at his two guy friends. "You two better buy me lunch tomorrow!"

Inuyasha and Kouga rolled their eyes. "Yes, ma'am," they muttered in unison. Miroku's violet eyes narrowed.

"So! How was your guys' fifth period?" Kagome asked before biting off a large chunk of her burger.

Kouga wiped his mouth with the back of a hand. "English?" He exchanged looks with Miroku and Inuyasha. "Let's just say it was…" His azure gaze flickered to the similar-colored sky as he searched for the right adjective.

"Unpleasant," Miroku finished.

Ayame raised a brow. "Unpleasant, how?" she inquired.

"Well, since you three are new here, you probably don't know the gossip."

"Oh boy…" Sango muttered.

Miroku smiled. "You can say that again."

"Oh boy."

He chuckled. "Anyways, the English teacher, Ms. Shouga—she has a thing for Mr. Myouga."

"Really?" Kagome said, her expression already looking grossed out.

Ayame leaned forward; she loved listening to gossip. She actually found it quite fascinating. "So what happened today?" she inquired.

"Uh…" Miroku glanced at Kouga. "Do you want to tell them?"

"Ugh!" Kouga cringed, as if he just tasted something horrible. "Hell no!"

"Well, I don't want to tell them!"

"I want to know!" Ayame whined. Her fists pounded into the soft earth.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Fine. _I'll _tell them," he said. "Wimps," he muttered before facing the girls. "If I were you, I'd put down my food."

"Why?" Ayame asked.

"Is it really that bad?" Sango said.

"Safety precautions. Just in case you have a weak stomach."

"Oh boy…" Sango said again, putting down her salad.

"Ready?" Inuyasha asked. The girls slowly nodded, unsure if they really wanted to hear it. "Okay," he said, "So Shouga and Myouga—they're both like fifty years old or something. You already saw Myouga, so you know what he looks like. Short and stout like a teapot—" Sango and Kagome burst out laughing. Inuyasha waited until they calmed down and wiped away their tears with their fingers. "Anyways," he continued, "Shouga kind of looks like the female version of Myouga."

"Ew," Ayame said, making a sickened face.

"Trust me, it gets better," he sarcastically said. "Shouga has long grayish hair and she wears too much blush. So, anyways, we were in class today. She was talking about the curriculum and all that until Myouga walks in to give Shouga some paperwork. Shouga gets all lovey-dovey and literally glomps him. Then, what's worse is she starts making out with him."

"Ugh!" all three girls cried. They all wore a disgusted expression.

"Just be glad you weren't there to witness it," Kouga said, his voice sounding just as revolted as his expression looked. "There were tongues and saliva and moans and…UGH!"

"UGH!" the girls, including Miroku, echoed.

"Boy, am I glad we weren't there!" Ayame said.

"What period do we have her?" Kagome tautly asked Sango.

"Ninth period," Sango answered with a shudder.

"Good luck," Miroku said as he reached for one of Sango's tator tots.

Science was up next. Personally, Kagome didn't think that Science should be placed right after lunch. After all, science was the one subject that talked about literally everything, including the human body. In fact, there was even a required unit of Sex Ed in Science class. At least, in Shikon High, there was. And Kagome was definitely not looking forward to that. The last thing she needed was to puke out a delicious, stomach-filling lunch after listening to a lecture about diseases transmitted by…you know.

She walked behind her roommates. Miroku and Kouga were up front, leading the group to their next class, like tour guides. Inuyasha was in the back of the line, just in case one of the girls got separated. Although Kagome thought that seemed like a good idea, she couldn't help but feel self-conscious with Inuyasha walking right behind her. In fact, she felt rather insecure. She made sure to stay close to Ayame and Sango to avoid straying.

They arrived to the room, which looked like a typical science classroom. There were fourteen lab tables with tall stools to serve as desks. Each row had two tables with a wide aisle between them. At each lab table, there were two stools.

"Please stand in the back of the room! You have a seating chart!" yelled a feminine voice. Kagome glimpsed at the teacher and her jaw almost snapped off. The so-called "teacher" was a young-looking woman with short black hair and lovely fuchsia eyes was standing behind a wooden podium, reviewing a sheet of paper. She wore a pretty black dress that ended just above her knees, and gleaming black high heels. It looked very teacherly, yet at the same time youthful.

When the bell rang, the woman cleared her throat and looked up at her students, who were assembled together at the back of the room, just as she'd asked. She gave them a pleased smile before introducing herself. "I am your science teacher, Ms. Yura. I know you've been hearing this all day, but I'm serious—I am excited to be teaching you guys this year. This is my first year of teaching." A few students clapped out of good manners. She thanked them, then said, "I have a seating chart right now, but it's only until I get to know your names. Once I call out your name, please sit in your assigned seat." She went to the front two lab tables and placed a hand on the table to her left. "Ayame and Hari." Ms. Yura moved her hand to the table to her right. "Kuranosuke and Sango."

Kagome watched as Sango slid into the seat beside a cute guy. The guy had his thick black hair pulled up into a high ponytail and kind-looking brown eyes. Frankly, Kagome thought that this Kuranosuke guy looked quite handsome. Sango seemed to think so, too, judging from the light pink blush that tainted her cheeks as Kuranosuke spoke to her. To her right, Kagome noticed Miroku's hands clench a tad. She looked up at him, and Miroku gave her a little smile.

As Ms. Yura continued reading off the seating chart, Kagome began to feel wary. The class was slowly dispersing. Miroku and Kouga were already paired up with different people, so it didn't seem like Kagome was going to sit with someone she knew…unless it was Inuyasha. Yes, as fate would have it, Inuyasha was still standing in the back of the room a few feet away from her, his arms crossed and his expression looking almost bored to tears. Kagome crossed her fingers at her sides, praying that she wouldn't have Inuyasha as her partner.

Ms. Yura didn't seem to notice Kagome's aura of apprehension, and continued to read off names. She finally got to the last row of lab tables. Kagome glanced at her three unpaired classmates. Aside from Inuyasha, there were two boys. She didn't want to sound like a girl whose only intentions were to flirt with as many guys as possible, but she was hoping to sit with one of the other guys.

"And here…" Ms. Yura touched her fingers to the tabletop. "Kagome and…"

_Not Inuyasha. Not Inuyasha. Not Inuyasha. Not—_

"Inuyasha."

_Son of a…_

Kagome resisted screaming at the top of her lungs as she trudged to her assigned seat. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sango laughing noiselessly into her hand. Kagome would've flipped her off if the teacher wasn't standing right next to her. Kagome slid onto the tall metal stool, setting her book bag on the tabletop. She sat on the edge of the chair, as far away from Inuyasha as possible. Inuyasha, however, seemed oblivious of Kagome's avoidance. He just leaned his head against a hand and stared straight ahead. Whether he was bored out of his mind or admiring the hairstyle of the girl sitting in front of him, Kagome wasn't sure. All she knew was that she'd give anything to sit with somebody else. Anybody besides Inuyasha. One of the boys to her right sneezed. Okay, anybody besides Inuyasha and Snotty-Nosed Boy. Kagome let out a quiet sigh and rested her head on her folded arms, staring at the front of the room through half-lidded eyes.

The rest of the class period went by in a haze.

"Kagome? Kagome!"

Kagome stirred. She let out a long yawn and glanced around in bewilderment. Then, she looked up to see who had awakened her. "Sango?" She yawned again. "What happened?"

Sango grinned mischievously. "It was pretty hard taking this behind the teacher's back," she whispered, pulling out her cell phone.

Kagome wrinkled her brows. "The teacher took it away from you?"

"Nope," Sango replied with a shake of her head. She smiled a toothy grin. "Check this out." She held out her cell phone to Kagome.

Kagome rubbed her weary eyes before looking at the screen. It seemed that Sango had taken a picture…of Kagome and Inuyasha. Both she and Inuyasha were sleeping, their heads resting on folded arms. Their elbows were touching and their heads were facing each other. Kagome wasn't sure whether to laugh or kick Sango's butt. She chose to do the latter.

"Ow!" Sango rubbed her backside. "What the hell?" She snatched her phone back.

"Why the hell would you take a picture of me and—" Kagome's head whirled towards the seat next to her.

"Don't worry. He already left."

Kagome groaned. "Sango, sometimes I just want to throw you out a window."

"What, kicking my behind isn't good enough?"

Kagome yawned again. "Great," she muttered, shouldering on her backpack. "Now I'm really tired."

Sango grabbed her hand. "Come on. We have PE next."

"Ugh! _Fabulous_! I just took a nap, and now we're going to _run_!"

Sango chuckled. "Relax. We're probably just going to get our uniforms or something."

"We'd better!"

The girls made their way down to the first floor to the gym, which was probably the only class they knew how to get to without the help of their male roommates. Once they arrived at the gym, they found several students sitting on the bleachers. Ayame waved down at them from the top row. Sango and Kagome climbed up the bleachers to sit beside Ayame, who was sitting next to the guys.

At the bottom of the bleachers, there were two teachers. One was an old man with a pointy beard and bug eyes. He was scrawny and looked like he could break a hip if he took a single step. To his left was the complete opposite: a beautiful, youthful woman. The woman had long black hair and crimson eyes. She looked kind of like Kaguya at first glance, but then this woman, whom Kagome assumed was Abi-Hime, had black hair that was slightly shorter than Kaguya's and reddish eyes instead of blue. And what was strange was that Abi looked nothing like a PE teacher. She wore skinny jeans and a red blouse with flats. Heck, Abi didn't even look like a _teacher_—she looked more like a college student!

"Good afternoon!" shouted the old man. He had a hoarse voice. Hoarse, but loud. Kagome wasn't sure how that was possible, but she listened. "My name is Toutousai." He gestured to the woman flanking his side. "And this is Abi-Hime—"

"Abi," the woman corrected, crossing her arms and leaning on a leg so that her hip jutted out.

"My mistake," Toutousai bluntly said, narrowing his eyes. "This is Abi. Abi will be the girls' PE teacher, and I'll be the boys' PE teacher. This year, we will…." After the intros, Toutousai began the long lecture about expectations and participation and grading and all that stuff. At some point, Abi left and returned with two large tubs. She removed the lids to reveal the PE uniform. It looked simple enough: a white T-shirt with Shikon High written over the chest area and dark blue sweatpants.

After Toutousai's monotonous speech, the students were to go to their teachers, tell them their sizes, and get their uniforms.

Once the six roommates got their uniforms, they headed back up to the top row of bleachers.

"By the way, Miroku," Kagome said, folding her T-shirt. "Do they have laundry rooms here?"

Miroku nodded. "'Course they do."

Ayame's jaw dropped. "No way."

"Yeah. It's not that far from the gym."

"What about a pool?" Sango asked.

Miroku nodded again. "We have that, too."

"I love this school," Kagome said.

Miroku laughed. "I know. I love this school, too. It has almost everything."

"If it had an amusement park, I wouldn't mind living here for the rest of my life," Ayame said. The others laughed.

"Good luck to the three of you," Kouga said. The girls were facing the boys, occasionally casting nervous glances at the door behind them.

"I'm scared," Kagome said. Sango snorted.

"Try to sit as far back as possible," Miroku advised.

"And take out a book or a folder," Kouga added. "Just in case Myouga comes in, you can hide your faces from the horror."

Ayame giggled, but then sobered up as soon as she looked at the door that led to English class with Ms. Shouga.

Kagome looked at all of her roommates. Her eyes eventually met the midnight blue ones of Inuyasha. He rolled them in the direction of the other two boys. Kagome smiled, holding back a laugh.

"Again," said Miroku, "Good luck."

"Thanks," Sango said, turning towards the door, "We're gonna need it."

And the girls entered the classroom.

The girls left the room at the end of the period, feeling relieved. Myouga didn't walk in, and there was no glomping. Thank goodness. Well, anyway, they headed to fourth floor, which was where the choir room was. At lunchtime, Miroku had told them how to get there since he too had tenth period choir. Kouga had Photography, but Inuyasha didn't say what class he had tenth hour.

As soon as the trio of girls entered the choir room, Miroku was already there, grinning at them.

"Hey, how was English?" he asked.

"Nothing happened," Ayame responded, "Thankfully."

"Oh. Good thing." Miroku looked around for a moment. "So what are you guys? Alto or soprano?"

"Soprano," Kagome replied.

"Me, too," Ayame said.

"Alto," Sango put in.

Kagome laughed and put an arm around Sango's shoulders. "She can actually do a good impression of Toutousai."

Miroku snorted. "Oh yeah? Let's hear it."

Sango violently shook her head. "No. I don't really—"

Ayame giggled. "Hey, Miroku? Where's the teacher?"

"Oh, she's over there." Miroku led Ayame towards the middle of the room.

Once they were out of earshot, Sango whirled around to face Kagome. "What is the matter with you?" she shrieked in a whisper.

Kagome blinked. "What? What'd I do?"

"You're trying to show Miroku my manly side?"

"Your manly side…?"

"I'm trying to make a good impersonation, you know!"

"But I was just—"

"What, is this revenge for me teasing you about your freak of a boyfriend Inuyasha?" Sango smirked and made kissing noises.

Kagome flushed immensely. "Shut up! I don't like him!"

Sango raised an eyebrow as she planted her hands on her hips. "Uh huh. Keep telling yourself that."

"Fine, I will!"

"Fine."

"Fine!"

"Fine."

"_Fine_!"

"Okay, okay! Fine! Jeez." Sango turned and went to sit down. Kagome rolled her eyes and plopped down in the chair beside Sango.

The school day ended slowly, but somehow not as painfully as Kagome had expected. Aside from the occasional headaches she got from Inuyasha's mood swings and Sango's arguments, that is. Besides that, though, the first day was pain free. No homework, thank goodness.

Still, Kagome couldn't say that she wasn't relieved to finally finish the school day. It felt great not having to give her undivided attention to a teacher; instead, she was free to socialize and explore and eat. Speaking of eating, she was now walking towards the cafeteria to get a snack from one of the vending machines. According to Sango, this little adventure had two purposes. One: obviously to get food to satisfy Kagome's hunger. And two: to test Inuyasha's actions.

Will Inuyasha appear out of the blue? Or will he ironically be in the same place as Kagome? Inuyasha had this strange habit of appearing when Kagome needed help most, such as when she was lost. It seemed likely that Inuyasha probably had some feelings for her (already), but what perplexed the girls was how he always seemed to know exactly where Kagome was. Sango considered superhero powers, stalker issues, some sort of tracking device installed inside Kagome, and Inuyasha being a member of a secret spy organization. Kagome thought those ideas were stupid, but she was starting to lean towards the spy idea.

Kagome finally made it to the cluster of vending machines. She went to the nearest one and gawked at all the possibilities; candy, cookies, pretzels, trail mix…this vending machine had almost every packaged snack food possible. The one next to it sold fresh fruit. _Fruit_. There was another one that sold energy drinks and sodas. This school was Kagome's dream come true. Screw grocery stores; Shikon Boarding School had every type of snack food set at a fair price. I mean, fifty cents for a bag of Cheez-Its? What more could a hungry teen want?

While Kagome was busy gaping at the snacks behind the glass, she failed to notice somebody coming up behind her. The person wasn't actually going directly towards her, but in order to get to the vending machine that sold drinks, this individual had to pass Kagome. The person brushed past Kagome, which snapped her out of her food reverie. She looked up.

It was Onigumo.

Kagome's head whirled around as she looked for Inuyasha. Now was his chance to arrive on the scene and save the day once again. But he wasn't nearby. How peculiar.

"Crap," Onigumo muttered. His brown eyes flickered to her. "Kagome, you wouldn't happen to have ten cents, would you?"

"Um…" Kagome pulled out all her money from her pocket. There were a few crumpled dollar bills and some change. She didn't have a dime, but she did have two nickels. "Yeah. Here you go." Kagome put the two nickels into his palm. Suddenly, her fingers made contact with the palm of his hand. His skin was ice cold. Instinctively, Kagome gasped and jerked her hand back.

Onigumo looked up at her. "Sorry," he said. "I was helping the lunch ladies defrost some meat."

"Oh." That didn't sound very…truthful. But it _did_ sound random.

Onigumo turned back to the vending machine, inserted several coins into the coin slot, and pushed a button. Seconds later, a soda tumbled out into the open compartment. Onigumo stooped over to grab the drink, and then he shouldered past Kagome. She didn't realize that she was holding her breath until after Onigumo rounded the corner into the cafeteria.

She heaved a heavy sigh. While trying to regulate her breathing, she focused her attention back on the vending machine. For some reason, she felt kind of disappointed. She had been expecting Inuyasha to pop out of nowhere to "protect" her from Onigumo.

Kagome inwardly shrugged. Oh well. For now, her stomach was more important. Kagome finally settled on getting a bag of potato chips and a package of cookies. She pocketed the rest of her money and turned to leave, only to thump directly into someone.

"Oh, sorr—" Kagome's apology was cut off when she saw who she'd bumped into. "I-Inuyasha?" she squeaked out. She feigned an innocent _I-didn't-just-interact-with-Onigumo _face, but, by the looks of Inuyasha's scowl, he wasn't buying it.

"What did I tell you about staying away from Onigumo?" he darkly said. His blue-black eyes were hard and narrowed.

She nervously laughed. "Uh…nothing?" She tried to step around him, but he slammed his hands against the vending machine, trapping her between his arms. She yelped and cowered against the machine. She tried to pry her eyes away from his piercing glare, but she couldn't. For some reason, she found it difficult to look away from those hard, midnight blue eyes. She somehow felt drawn to them, as if she could stare into their blue-black depths forever.

"Kagome," Inuyasha muttered menacingly. He leaned closer to her until his face was just inches from hers. She pressed her back up against the vending machine, nearly snapping her own spine. Inuyasha just glared at her, his enraged eyes glaring into her doe eyes. "I'm telling you to stay away from Onigumo for your own safety. Don't get involved with him." She opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off. "No buts."

Kagome stared at Inuyasha and he stared back. Neither one moved. All was quiet except for the sounds of their breathing.

_So he _was_ watching, _Kagome thought. _And once again, he's telling me what to do without offering some kind of explanation. _Feeling rebellious, Kagome frowned up at her roommate. She pushed his arm upwards and ducked underneath it and backed away until they were a fair distance from each other.

"Fine," Kagome said. "I'll stay away from Onigumo…if you tell me _why_ I have to stay away from him. You've been telling me to stay away from Onigumo, but you never stopped to tell me why." She planted a hand on her hip. "Are you going to tell me?"

Inuyasha's body stiffened. His shoulders squared before he responded curtly, "No." Kagome crossed her arms. Inuyasha took this posture as a challenge and continued, "All I can tell you is that if you befriend Onigumo, bad things will happen."

She raised a brow. "Bad things, huh?" she bluntly repeated.

"I'm serious, Kagome. This isn't a joke."

"I'm sure you're telling the truth, Inuyasha…" Inuyasha's stance relaxed slightly. Kagome narrowed her brown eyes at him. "I just wish you'd tell me what's going on."

Without another word, Kagome spun on her heel and walked away as fast as she could without breaking into a run.

Kagome stormed down the hallway towards her dorm room. Her heart was beating rapidly with adrenaline. She felt the strange urge to throw things around, lift weights, and roar like a lion. Of course, that would be stupid. Instead, she'd do the humane thing and run her stress out on the track.

Of course, she wasn't going to run around in jeans and a dressy blouse, even if she was wearing tennis shoes. So, she'd have to make a detour to her closet to get changed into more appropriate clothing. She yanked her room key out of her pocket, jammed it into the keyhole, and twisted it. She shoved the door open with her body.

Sitting on the couches were her roommates, excluding Inuyasha. They all looked up at her with questioning eyes.

"Hey, Kagome," Miroku greeted with a smile.

"Hi." Kagome's hand clenched tightly around the bag of potato chips until the bag exploded with a loud pop. Some chips spilled out onto the carpet at her feet.

"Uh, Kagome?" Ayame unsurely said. She cleared her throat. "Are you mad?"

"Somewhat."

"W-Why?"

"Because…" Because Inuyasha pissed her off while trying to protect her from 'bad things' without giving her some sort of explanation? Ugh, that'd be too much explaining. Kagome didn't want to explain; she wanted to run. The sooner, the better. "Because I…" She looked down at the chips on the floor. "Because I wanted Chex Mix, but the damned vending machine gave me potato chips! Ugh, stupid machine!"

She stomped dramatically to her bedroom. Once inside, she closed the door, went to the closet, and yanked on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. She pulled on the same pair of shoes she'd worn earlier. Then, she grabbed two hair ties off Sango's dresser (Sango "borrowed" Kagome's hair ties all the time anyway) and wore them on her wrists for now. The next thing she grabbed was her iPod. Once she had everything she thought she needed, she left the dorm after telling her roommates where she was going.

The weather outside was a clear blue earlier that day, but now it had become cloudy. The clouds weren't such a dark shade of grey that it threatened unpromising weather, but there were enough clouds to block the hot sun.

On the track, there was only one other girl. She was way on the other side of the field, but Kagome could see that the girl was pale-skinned and had long black hair in a swishing ponytail. Without even bothering to tie her hair back, Kagome began to run. A song by Evanescence blared through the white ear buds. The noise would've deafened Kagome if she weren't so focused on running. To her, the music was nothing more than something in the background. Once her feet began pounding on the running track, she started pondering.

Inuyasha was plaguing her mind far too much. She only met him last night, and she was already practically obsessed with him. Wait, was obsessed even the right word? Her thoughts always prevented her from focusing solely on a certain task because of Inuyasha. Everything she looked at and smelled and touched made her somehow relate it to Inuyasha, whether it was a shade of blue or a smell that made her wonder what his natural scent was. Frankly, it scared Kagome. Never before had she thought about a crush so much. Hold on a sec…was she already falling for Inuyasha? On the first day?

Kagome shook her head as she neared where the path curved. Kagome Higurashi did not believe in love at first sight. It was unbelievably cheesy and corny and sappy and other food-related adjectives. Love at first sight never happened in real life. No person just looked into another's eyes and officially declared that he or she had found his or her soul mate.

No. Freaking. Way.

Okay, so Kagome decided that she was not in love with that moody weirdo named Inuyasha. Perhaps it was just an infatuation? Or, dare she think it…maybe she was lusting after Inuyasha. Kagome's cheeks burned. She hated to admit it, but lust could possibly be what she felt for her roommate. After all, she _was_ a normal teenage girl with hormones.

_Ugh. Great. The last thing I want to feel for someone as stubborn as him is _lust.

Suddenly, Kagome noticed a crumpled form laying on the track ahead of her. Kagome picked up her pace once she realized it was the black-haired girl.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kagome kneeled down next to the girl.

The girl cringed as she held her ankle. "Y-Yeah. I just hurt my ankle."

"Should I take you to the nurse?" Kagome's gaze went down to the girl's ankle, where both her pale hands were clasped around.

"I don't think you'll be able to take me," the girl breathed out, trying her best not to scream in pain.

"Um…" Kagome looked around, beginning to panic. "Do you have a phone?" The girl shook her head. "Damn it," she hissed. When Kagome looked up, though, she saw someone conveniently walking up the field. "Help!" Kagome cried out, loud enough for the newcomer to hear. The person's head jolted up, and, in a flash, the person was at Kagome's side. Much to Kagome's disbelief, the person was Onigumo.

"Is she okay?" Onigumo asked Kagome.

She shook her head. "I think she sprained her ankle pretty bad."

"I'll carry her to the nurse." Without waiting for a response, Onigumo hefted the wincing, black-haired girl onto his back. And then, Onigumo and Kagome ran as fast as they could to the nurse's office.

"Is she okay?" Kagome frantically asked the nurse.

Kaede chuckled. "Calm down, Kagome. It was a mild ankle sprain, not a heart attack."

Kagome flushed. "W-Well, I…" She shook her head. "Can I see her?"

"Of course."

Kagome edged past the nurse and went into a small room in the back. Inside the room was a cot with the girl laying on it. Her ankle had a bag of ice on it, and her pale hands were folded over her stomach. She was staring at the ceiling until Kagome passed through the doorway. The girl rolled her head to meet Kagome's eyes. That was when Kagome realized that, not only did the girl have black hair and pale skin, but she also had brown eyes. This girl was almost a mirror image of Kagome herself.

Just as Kagome opened her mouth to speak, the girl murmured, "Close the door."

Confused, Kagome pulled the door shut. "How are you—"

"Kagome," the girl said as she sat up. The bag of ice slipped off her leg and plopped onto the carpeted floor. But what baffled Kagome was that the girl sat cross-legged on the bed.

"Y-Your ankle…!"

"It's fine. Nothing's wrong with it."

"But out on the track—"

"That was just to get your attention." The girl closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again to meet Kagome's perplexed gaze. "Kagome, I need to talk to you."

"H-How do you know my name?"

She rolled her eyes. "That's not important right now." She beckoned Kagome with a wave of her hand. Cautiously, Kagome sat across from the girl on the bed, never removing her eyes from her double.

Kagome cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Uh, who exactly are you?" It sounded kind of rude and random from her tone, but the other girl didn't seem to be bothered by it.

"My name's Kikyou. I'm here to warn you."

Kagome raised a brow. "Warn me?"

"Yes." Kikyou's brown stare pierced through Kagome, making her feel exposed and vulnerable. "I want you to be careful," she said in a grave voice.

"Of what?"

Kikyou took a deep breath. "Of Inuyasha."


	5. Awkward Situations

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or the characters.**

**Author's Note: Wow. Time sure does fly. Oh, this Saturday is my birthday! Yay! So, this is kind of like my way of celebrating and releasing some stress/excitement. I am beyond stressed at the moment. Aside from planning my birthday party and sleepover, I also have two damned AP classes and nearly all Honors classes. I'm not trying to rub it in; I'm actually complaining about the homework load. It sucks. A lot. The only class I actually love is my Creative Writing class. I think most of you can understand why ;)**

**By the way, before you read this, if the chapter suddenly transitions and there's no horizontal ruler thing or hyphen, sorry about that. See, for some reason, when I upload a document to upload on , it deletes all of my horizontal rulers, so it tends to confuse readers when one paragraph is talking Inuyasha and then next about Ayame. You understand what I was blabbering about, right? Anyways...**

**Pleeeeeeeeeeease review! Your reviews mean so much to me! They inspire me to write more and sometimes I even get ideas from your reviews. Remember, if you have an idea or something you'd like to see, either write it in your review or send me a message. Thank you for reading, and please leave a review!**

**Chapter Five: Awkward Situations**

Five minutes ago, Kagome had entered the nurse's office, frantic and worried for the "injured" Kikyou. And now, she left the office, confused and mystified.

Kikyou had told her to be very cautious of Inuyasha. Why, Kagome wasn't sure. Kikyou gave no explanation. _Ugh. What the hell was up with people and offering no explanations at this damned school?_ Kagome clenched her hands into fists as she made her way to the elevator. Nothing was making sense. Inuyasha always finding her when she got lost. Inuyasha being unnaturally protective of her. Kikyou faking an injury to draw Kagome's attention. And now, Kikyou's warning.

"_Be careful," _Kikyou had told her. "_of Inuyasha." _

Be careful of Inuyasha.

Didn't she mean be careful of Onigumo? And if she didn't, what was it about Inuyasha that Kagome needed to be careful of? His mood swings? An awful secret that Kikyou knew about and Kagome didn't?

Kagome pressed her fingertips to her throbbing forehead. It was barely her second day of school and she was already suffering a headache from too much thinking...and it wasn't even in math class! That was a surprise. Instead of a complicated math problem, a mysterious puzzle was hurled at her, and now she felt like she had no other obligation but to put together the pieces of this puzzle. But first, she needed to _find_ the pieces. Finding them, however, wasn't going to be a cakewalk.

She sighed. _Well, so much for focusing on my studies._

In less than a few minutes, Kagome was knocking on the entry door to her dorm. Ayame pulled it open. Upon seeing her roommate, she beamed. "Hey there! How was your run?"

"Uh. Interesting." _Very_ interesting.

"Interesting how?" the redhead pressed.

Kagome was about to answer to dismiss the subject when, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted him. Inuyasha. The person Kikyou warned her about. The person she needed to be careful of. He was sitting on the couch with Sango and Kouga, staring at her with his piercing dark blue eyes. Judging by his posture, he seemed to be anticipating her answer.

"What's so interesting about running?" Sango scoffed, crossing one leg over the other.

"Well!" Kagome said, getting defensive. "I saw…" She saw what? Her mirror image faking an injury for a chance to talk to her alone? "I saw a butterfly."

"A butterfly?" Sango bluntly repeated, raising a thin eyebrow.

"Yeah," Kagome stuttered. "It was a _big_ butterfly. A big purple one."

"Purple butterflies?" Miroku said. He, too, raised a brow. "I didn't know purple butterflies existed."

"Of course they can!" Ayame said, coming to Kagome's defense, much to Kagome's relief. "Google it!"

"As much as I'd love to Google pictures of butterflies, Ayame," Miroku said, "I suggest we go eat dinner first."

"What time is it?" Kouga asked.

"Almost seven."

Kagome just realized that she was very hungry and was about to follow her roommates out the door…until she caught a whiff of her body odor. "Uh, you guys go ahead," she called to them. "I have to take a shower real quick. I'll meet you there."

Miroku nodded. "Okay. We're sitting at the same table as yesterday."

"Got it." Kagome shut the door after her five roommates left. Then she went into the girls' bedroom, grabbed some clean clothes, and took a quick shower.

As she dabbed the towel over her drenched body, Kagome glanced at the foggy mirror hanging on the wall above the sink. With her forearm, she wiped away the vapor to clearly see her reflection. For a second, it was Kikyou staring back at her. But when Kagome blinked, she only saw her own reflection. She sighed heavily, putting a hand to her forehead.

She washed her face and dried herself off and got dressed. Her black hair was still wet, so Kagome grabbed another towel from the towel rack. Then, she left the hazy, humid bathroom, blotting her dripping hair with the fresh towel. She crossed the bedroom to the closet. There, she found a pair of cute ballet flats and slipped them on. Afterward, she shoved her room key and cell phone into her jeans pocket, tossed the used towel into the hamper, and left the room. With an exhausted yawn, Kagome pulled open the dorm's door and walked forward…only to thump directly into Inuyasha's chest.

She looked up at him, and repressed a groan and an "Oh God, it's you again." Kagome crossed her arms and glared up at him. "_Excuse me_," she said, emphasizing the two words loudly.

"Something's bothering you," he said. "I can tell."

"Oh, really?" Kagome turned to switch off the living room light and shut the door behind her. "And how exactly do you know that?"

"So there _is_ something bothering you."

"Yeah, but that's none of your business," Kagome said in a spiteful tone. She spun on her heel and stalked towards the elevator. Of course, even her power walk couldn't outpace Inuyasha. In fact, her power walk was just as fast as Inuyasha's normal walking pace. If he was this fast just walking, she couldn't imagine how fast he'd be when he actually _ran_. His speed, however, did nothing to _not_ annoy Kagome. It only pissed her off even more that she would never be able to outrun Inuyasha.

"So…" he said. He sounded like he was trying to find the right words to phrase his next question. He was probably attempting to find a way to ask her what was wrong without her lashing out. That was impossible, though. Everything about him was starting to piss her off. "Are you going to tell me what's on your mind?" he finally asked.

Kagome plastered on a fake smile. "Sure"—she scowled at him—"as soon as you tell me why you're acting so weird."

"I'm acting weird, huh?" His voice held a hint of amusement.

"Yes. You are." At this point, Kagome and Inuyasha were in the elevator.

"How am I weird? Tell me."

"Well…" The thick golden doors slid shut, trapping Kagome in a small enclosed space with Inuyasha, the one that she was warned to be careful of. She pushed aside the thought. "You always seem to know where I am whenever I get lost and you're overprotective of me whenever Onigumo's around."

"So?"

Kagome didn't have a comeback to that. "I…" She shook her head. "I don't know! It's just weird."

She heard a low chuckle. She looked up to see Inuyasha poorly attempting to muffle his laughter behind a hand. "What?" she demanded. "Why are you laughing?"

"You are such an idiot." At that moment, the elevator reached the first floor and the doors opened up. Inuyasha began to walk away.

Kagome jogged after him. "Would you just tell me what's going on?" she asked. Her voice sounded unintentionally impatient.

"That's the problem. I don't even know what you want me to explain."

"You know _exactly_ what I want you to explain!"

Suddenly, Inuyasha stopped walking, causing Kagome to crash directly into his back. He turned and looked down at her, smirking in an almost playful manner. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! You're laughing, so you _do _know!"

His smirk grew wider. "That doesn't prove anything. I could be laughing because you're babbling all this nonsense."

Kagome's face burned with embarrassment. She groaned, and brushed past him. It didn't seem like she was going to get any pieces of the puzzle tonight.

* * *

It was two o'clock in the morning and Kagome couldn't fall asleep. She was laying on her side in her pajamas, hugging her pillow to her chest. She stared at the blank wall, her thoughts swirling around in an endless circle of confusion. Since Sunday evening, when Kagome first met Inuyasha during the ceremonial dinner, Kagome couldn't understand anything—Inuyasha's mood swings, his protectiveness, his antisocial behavior…Nothing made sense. Inuyasha was just too mysterious.

He was always quiet whenever the roommates gathered. He never spoke unless absolutely necessary. He was like that in class, during mealtimes, and even in the dorm! Plus, whenever Kagome got lost or was about to run into Onigumo, Inuyasha intercepted and led her to either her next class or to the dorm. Kagome made many inferences, and the only one that seemed to make sense was that Inuyasha had feelings for her. What bamboozled her was how in the world Inuyasha always seemed to find her. Maybe that shouldn't matter and she should just deal with the fact that she had a good-looking savior who gave off the impression that he had some feelings for her. Normally, a girl would love that in a guy. But who said Kagome was like the normal girls? She tended to over-think and over-analyze things. It was a habit that stressed her out and wouldn't let her sleep peacefully. And, right now, she was suffering yet another sleepless night of coming up with possible theories before contradicting it with more theories. It was an endless cycle of thoughts and theories. Tonight was a perfect example of this.

It was Friday night—or technically Saturday morning. Five days of Inuyasha's weirdness. Five long days.

Kagome finally yanked the two blankets off her and slipped out of bed. She couldn't sleep. Her only remedy to make herself fall asleep was watching TV. Hopefully, none of her roommates would wake up to the sound of late night cartoons.

She tiptoed out of the room and into the living room. Grabbing the remote from one of the couches' armrests, Kagome plopped down onto the sofa and switched the television on. She turned down the volume and flipped through the channels until she found a movie. It was some drama thing on the Lifetime channel. Kagome had never seen this movie before, so she just watched through half-lidded eyes as she lounged.

Thirty or so minutes later, Kagome heard a door crack open. She closed her eyes and relaxed her body to make the person believe she was fast asleep.

The person padded into the living room before pausing right beside Kagome's couch. Then, Kagome heard the rustle of clothing as the person stooped next to her, their breath hushed. For a split second, she thought that this person was going to kiss her until she felt hot air on her ear.

"You're a bad actress, Kagome," the person whispered

_Inuyasha. _Kagome growled at him and rolled her body away from him. He snorted before draping a blanket over her.

"Good night," he murmured.

"Ugh, shut up."

* * *

The next morning, he was gone. Kagome realized this after Sango gently shook her awake and the roommates had gone to eat breakfast, still wearing their pajamas. As Kagome looked around the table, she noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Inuyasha?" she asked, doing her best to not spit out his name.

"He went home for the weekend," Miroku answered.

"You can do that?" Ayame asked. She shoveled some scrambled eggs into her mouth.

Kouga nodded. "Yeah, but only if you get permission from Myouga. You have to fill out a request form a few days prior to when you're planning to leave, and then he lets you go."

"That's cool," Sango commented as she shook some salt onto her plate of eggs.

* * *

It had been nearly a whole week. Where was he?

"Inuyasha's been gone for a while," Sango said on Friday afternoon. She, Ayame, and Kagome were resting in their shared bedroom. She was laying on her stomach on her bed, playing with a cheap green yo yo. Ayame was sitting on the floor painting her toenails a glittery red color. Kagome was also on the floor, petting Kirara, who was snoozing lazily on her lap.

"I know," Ayame said. "I wonder what's wrong?"

Sango shrugged. "Maybe a family member got sick or something."

"How's he going to make up all the class-work? We have that book report for English and an essay for World History and a bunch of other assignments."

"Well, hopefully, he gets caught up before his grades start to drop."

Kagome stared down at Kirara's cream-colored fur. For some reason, Kagome felt kind of guilty. She knew that it sounded ridiculous, but was -_she_ the reason that Inuyasha went home? She shook her head. That was unlikely. She couldn't possibly be the reason for his leaving. Miroku told the roommates himself that Inuyasha had gone home...for the weekend. The weekend had ended five days ago...

She set Kirara down. "I'm going to get a snack," she said to her two friends. "You guys want anything?"

Ayame shook her head.

"Nah," Sango said.

"'Kay." Kagome grabbed some money from a drawer of her vanity and her room key before leaving the dorm. She stared down at the thin grayish carpet of the hallway as she almost trudged towards the elevator.

Strangely, she felt kind of empty without Inuyasha around. She was so used to having him stare at her and saving her…Basically, she felt empty without Inuyasha's presence. Period.

Kagome shook her head. Why did she care about that moody moron? He was just that annoying roommate who liked to give her headaches. Damned idiot.

Kagome nearly punched the button to call the elevator. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. She was still wearing her slippers with sweats and a tank top. Not that she cared. After all, nearly every student at Shikon High wore sweats during the lazy weekends.

Finally, the elevator doors slid open. What Kagome saw inside made her heartbeat quicken tenfold and her jaw nearly snap off. Inside the elevator was Inuyasha, holding a duffel bag with his long black hair kind of mussed up. He wore a pair of dark jeans with a black jacket overlapping his white T-shirt. He was scuffing his shoes when the elevator doors had opened. He looked up and his eyes met hers.

"Hey."

"Hi."

Those were the only words they exchanged as Inuyasha left the elevator and Kagome entered it.

* * *

What Kagome liked most about the weekends at Shikon was that she nearly always had the television to herself. It was odd since you'd usually expect the complete opposite—for her to never get the TV. However, her roommates were busy bees. Miroku and Ayame were on student council, Kouga was in cross country, and Sango was trying out for volleyball (she had been trying to get Kagome to join, too, but Kagome was too lazy to try out for a sport so early in the school year). Inuyasha, however…

Even though the guy nearly always stayed in the boys' room, Kagome felt somewhat wary of him. Not only because Kikyou had warned her, but because, overall, Inuyasha was a mysterious guy. He wasn't shy—he just didn't talk to people. He wasn't stupid—he just never did his work. He didn't hate people in general—he was just antisocial. All of these qualities were usually a turnoff to most girls, and yet, Kagome felt unexpectedly attracted to him. Frankly, it was really scary.

On Saturday afternoon, a day after Inuyasha's sudden return, four roommates were out of the dorm, leaving behind two. One of the remaining roommates was lounging on the longer couch in the living room, flipping through channels. The other was doing who-knows-what in his room. Kagome decided not to think about what in the world Inuyasha was doing. She didn't really care at the moment; all she was thinking about was where in the world she could watch something entertaining. Like cartoons or perhaps a movie...

"Hey, Kagome?"

She nearly toppled off the couch. "Uh, yeah?" she called back.

"Can you help me with something?"

Kagome blinked before wrinkling her brows. "Sure." She switched off the TV and went to the boys' room. She felt like she was going into uncharted waters—this was the first time she'd ever stepped foot into the boys' room.

The boys' room looked kind of…normal. The walls were painted blue, and the floor was carpeted just like the girls' bedroom. However, the boys seemed to have divided the room up into three sections. One section, which Kagome had a strong feeling was Miroku's, was nice and tidy. The bed was made and the floor looked freshly vacuumed. Another section, most likely Kouga's, was just plain messy. Clothes lay crumpled on the floor and the blanket was just a big heap on the bed. And last was Inuyasha's section. It was more on the tidy side, but not squeaky clean like Miroku's section of the room. The bed was made and the vacuumed floor had the occasional T-shirt laying on the floor. Beside the bed was a tall stack of textbooks. Inuyasha was sitting on his bed with his back pressed against the headboard and his legs crossed at the ankles. He had a textbook opened up on his lap. He was also holding a spiral notebook in his hand and was chewing on the eraser of his pencil, looking as if he were deep in thought.

Kagome stepped into the room. "What's up?" she asked.

"Do you know how to do the math homework?"

"From Friday?"

He nodded.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I don't know how to do it."

Kagome walked up to his bedside and peered at the book. "Which one do you need help on?"

"Thirty-two."

"Let me see." Kagome was about to sit down when she immediately tensed. "Uh, do you mind?" she asked, hiding the nervousness in her tone.

Inuyasha scooted over to make room for Kagome. She sat down on the very edge of the mattress, and he gave her the textbook. She looked at the problem, instantly recognizing it as the one that she had asked the teacher for help on yesterday. Kagome showed Inuyasha how to solve the problem exactly as Ms. Tsubaki showed her. Inuyasha nodded several times, watching Kagome write down the steps on his paper.

"Oh, now I get it. Thanks," he said, taking back his textbook and notebook.

"Tsubaki showed me how to do it, actually," Kagome admitted, blushing a little.

He shrugged. "At least I understood you when you explained it. Normally, I'd ask Miroku, but he…his explanations are a what-the-fuck."

Kagome snorted. "They're a what?"

"A what-the-fuck. You know, when someone says something that doesn't make any sense and your reaction is usually _what the fuck did you just say?_"

She laughed a little until she noticed Inuyasha staring at her pointedly. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing."

She shoved at his shoulder playfully. "You are so weird," she said.

He lightly shoved her back. "No, I'm not. You're just normal." Kagome looked at him funny. "Wait," he said, "I just insulted myself." Inuyasha and Kagome burst out laughing.

"By the way," Inuyasha said, "since you're helping me now, would you mind helping me with English?"

Kagome rubbed her eye. "With the study guide?"

"Yeah. I don't understand the book. It's so old-school."

"You mean a what-the-fuck?" Kagome teased.

He nodded. "Definitely a what-the-fuck." They both laughed again.

Kagome nodded. "Sure. I'll help you."

"Thanks a lot."

Kagome peered down at the stack of textbooks. "You've got a lot of catching up to do," she noted, picking up the book on top of the little mountain.

"I know. It sucks."

She looked at the cover. "Feudal Era History? I didn't know you took that." She glimpsed at Inuyasha, who spared a glance at the textbook in her hand.

"Yeah, I have it tenth period. I have to read three chapters." He focused his attention on a math problem.

Kagome opened the book to a random page and read an excerpt. Frankly, it sounded interesting and attention-grabbing. "Who teaches it?" she asked, flipping to another random page.

"Myouga."

"_Myouga_ ?"

"It's the only class he teaches."

"Oh." Kagome turned the page, where she saw a picture of a man with very long silver hair up in a high ponytail. He had purple markings on his cheeks, ears that were pointed, and eyes the color of polished gold. He wore a white kimono with armor, and in his right hand, he held a sword. In the caption, it read that this was an oil painting of a dog demon in its human form. "Wow. This is really interesting," she murmured as she turned the page. She peeked up at her roommate, who was still writing. "Is this class being offered next year?" she asked.

"Uh. Well…there are certain…requirements you have to meet." Kagome opened her mouth to say something when Inuyasha cut her off. "They're pretty strict. Myouga only lets a few people into that class."

" Oh." Kagome decided not to press on the subject. However, she couldn't help but get absorbed into reading the text. This was the first time Kagome was so engaged in reading a _textbook_.

Inuyasha laughed. "You really like reading about the Feudal Era, huh?"

"I do. It's just so…fascinating."

"How about you do my homework for me?" he joked.

"Psh, yeah right. In your dreams."

A few silent minutes passed between the pair. Inuyasha continued to do his math homework and Kagome proceeded to read more about the Feudal Era. Finally, Inuyasha closed the math textbook with a resounding thump.

"Finally," he said, stretching his arms, "I'm caught up in math."

Kagome shut the Feudal Era History book. "You want to take a break?" she asked.

"Definitely."

"Good. 'Cause I'm starving."

Inuyasha snorted. They both slid off the bed and went to put on their shoes. Then, they headed to the cafeteria to get lunch. Today's lunch was soup and salad. Kagome and Inuyasha grabbed their lunches, and then went to sit outside under the large tree the roommates usually sat under at lunchtime. They nicknamed it The Big Tree, lamely enough.

"What's your favorite animal?" Kagome asked as they squatted down to sit on the grass.

"Dog. You?"

"Cat."

"Huh." He pressed his back against the wide trunk of the tree. He set his lunch tray on his lap and crossed his legs at the ankles. "Favorite color?" he said before taking a sip of soda.

"Green. And you?"

"Red."

Kagome smiled. "Favorite sport?"

"Golf."

"Seriously?"

"No." They laughed. "No, I actually like cross country," he answered. "I like to run. How about you?"

"Eh." Kagome looked up at the blue sky, where some wispy clouds were scattered about and the sun was shining. "I'm not a very sporty person. But if I had to pick, I'd say volleyball."

"You're not trying out for the volleyball team?"

"Nah. Too lazy." He chuckled. Then, Kagome realized something. "Wait," she said. "How come you're not in cross country?"

He twirled his metal spoon in the little foam cup of soup. "I decided to do football. They need more players."

"Oh. Have they started practice yet?"

He awkwardly shrugged a shoulder. "They have, but I kind of decided to join late. Lucky for me, though, they don't practice on weekends unless there's a game."

"Oh. That makes sense."

"Okay, um..." Inuyasha looked skyward. "Favorite food?"

"Ramen."

"No way. Me, too."

"Well, there's one thing we have in common," Kagome said, grinning. It felt so weird. Her relationship with Inuyasha was like a stimulating roller coaster. One second, it was so annoying that she wanted to scream and tear things apart. The next, it was fun, like now.

"We _are_ still playing the Game of Favorites, right?" Inuyasha asked, eating a large forkful of salad.

"Huh? Oh. Sure. Uh…Favorite—" Kagome looked around for inspiration. "Tree?"

Inuyasha raised a brow as he swallowed. "Favorite tree?" he repeated, holding back a laugh.

"I don't know! I'm out of ideas!"

"Okay then." Inuyasha looked around. "I spy with my little eye—"

"Are you serious?" Kagome laughed out, holding her stomach.

Inuyasha smiled. "I spy with my little eye…something that I hope trips on a dandelion."

Kagome looked up and saw someone running towards them. "Miroku?"

"Yup."

The pair burst out laughing just as Miroku jogged up to them with his lunch.

"Hey, guys," he panted out. He dropped a notebook labeled _Student Council_ on the ground before plopping down on the grass beside Kagome. "What's up?"

"Not much," Kagome said before taking a sip of juice. "What were you running for?"

"Ayame threatened to throw me into a pit of lions."

Inuyasha snickered. "What for?"

"For nominating her to be president of student council."

"Oh. She overreacts a lot," Kagome explained.

"I can tell," Miroku said, raising his eyebrows as he opened his carton of milk.

"Where is she now?"

"Getting something from the dorm." Miroku looked back and forth between Inuyasha and Kagome. "So, are you two finally getting along now?"

Kagome wrinkled her brows. She looked at Inuyasha, who was feigning innocence by looking up at the sky. "What?" she asked Miroku.

"Never mind," he said, waving a hand.

"No, tell me! What do you mean?"

At that moment, Ayame arrived. "Hey, guys."

"Still mad at me?" Miroku asked.

She shrugged. "Not really. I was just overreacting."

Miroku looked at Kagome, who gave him an I-told-you-so look.

* * *

"Okay, let's take it from the top."

"Sango, we'd already rehearsed this like fifty times!"

"I know, but I can't get the right note for this part." Sango pointed out a part in the music to Kagome.

"Oh." Kagome frowned. "Well, the altos get higher and higher until they say the word 'be.' The second 'be' is low."

"I know," Sango said, shaking her head, "But Ms. Hamasaki says I sing too low on that part."

"Hmm. Let's see." Kagome began snapping a steady beat. "One, two, three…"

In unison, the girls sang:

"_Let there be music,_

_Let there be."_

"See?" Sango turned to Kagome. "I practically go bass on that note."

"Okay. Try again," Kagome advised, "This time, try to sing higher than usual on that note."

"Easy for a soprano to say."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Ready?" Sango nodded.

The girls sang the same words again. This time, Sango managed to hit the right note.

"Yes! Finally!"

There was a knock on the door. Sango went to open the door, revealing Miroku standing in the doorway, holding his own copy of the choir music.

"You want to rehearse with us?" Kagome asked, smiling knowingly.

Miroku chuckled. "Yeah. I heard you guys singing," he said. "I need to work on memorization."

"So do I."

"Let's start from the beginning," Sango said. The trio of singers cleared their throats while Miroku snapped the steady beat. They were currently working on the music that Shikon High's choir was going to perform at the fall concert next month. Ms. Hamasaki was breathing down their necks about memorization; she got super fussy whenever concerts were nearing, even if they _were_ four weeks away.

The three roommates sang the song. They messed up at some point from laughing when a fully-dressed Ayame walked out of the bathroom after showering, dancing horribly.

"Ayame!" Kagome shouted, dramatically throwing her music to the floor. "Way to mess us up!" Ayame just laughed.

Miroku looked down at his music. "I don't think anyone would want to 'raise the roof' while listening to this song."

"That's why it was funny," Sango said, crossing her arms, still giggling.

"Well, anyway," Ayame said. "You guys sound really good. Except for the part where Miroku hit the falsetto."

"Hey!" Miroku said, "We're not in class, so I can do whatever I want!"

The four friends laughed.

* * *

"_Let there be music,_

_Let there be."_

"Ugh!" Sango made a notation in her music with a pencil. "I can never get that note right the first time!"

Miroku nodded. "Yeah, I have trouble with that, too." He and Sango were currently sitting under The Big Tree. They were reviewing their music for the concert, which was two weeks away. Ms. Hamasaki was a very scary woman whenever the concerts were just two weeks away and her choir was still using their music.

"Sometimes, I wish I was a soprano," Sango said, "They have the easy parts, and they sound prettier."

"Yeah, but sometimes they hit that super high, annoying note," Miroku said, making a disgusted face. "I like the alto part. They make it sound less…high-pitched and more mature. You know?"

Sango nodded. Then, she felt Miroku's eyes on her. "What?" she asked self-consciously.

He shook his head. "Nothing."

* * *

"I have no idea," Ayame declared, throwing down her pen.

"Is it really that hard to write 'Vote For Ayame'?" Kouga asked. He was laying on his stomach, brainstorming a list of ways for Ayame to get voted for president of student council.

"It's not original!" Ayame said, slamming her fist on the carpeted floor of the living room. "I need something creative, Kouga! I need a slogan that is catchy and grabs people's attention! I mean, I'm going against a super popular senior!"

He shrugged. "So what?"

"Oh, forget it." She flopped backwards onto the floor. "I'm not going to win."

"You're being pessimistic."

"No I'm not. I'm being logical. A sophomore that's new to the school, or a cute senior who's friends with the entire school population?" Ayame lifted her hands and moved them up and down like a balance.

"Ayame, stop being negative."

"I'm not! I'm just stating the facts."

Kouga sighed. "Look, I don't usually give don't-give-up speeches, so I can't exactly encourage you. But don't be a quitter. Quitters don't win and losers…don't win either." Kouga sighed and slapped his own forehead.

Ayame couldn't help but giggle. "Hey, Kouga?"

"What?"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome…What'd I do?"

* * *

"What does it mean to be American?"

"Hell if I know, Kagome! That's why I'm asking _you_ for help!"

Kagome sighed. "I'm trying!"

Inuyasha gestured to the blank piece of notebook paper on his lap. "Well, your attempts at helping me aren't exactly helpful!"

She sighed again. "Let me ask you for the thousandth time: what do you think it means to be American?"

Inuyasha groaned. "Kagome, you are basically quoting the teacher word for word. You're my tutor, not Shouga's mini-me!"

Kagome gasped. "I am so offended! I _refuse_ to be associated with that scary midget lady who wears too much makeup."

"Well, then act like my tutor that is also a student, not a person that sounds like the teacher!"

She took a deep breath and thought for a moment. "Okay. When I say _American_, what's the first thing that comes to mind?"

"A person that lives in America...?"

"...Good enough!"

Kagome watched Inuyasha write down what he just said. From the looks of his essay-writing skills, English wasn't his strongest subject. She wondered what his best subject was. It was probably gym class, judging by his performance in the array of physical tests that Toutousai was making the boys do in PE. And that body...Inuyasha's body was a perfect balance between lean and muscular. It wasn't macho, but it wasn't nerd-skinny either.

She found herself blushing. She was relieved, however, that Inuyasha was still writing. He had already written a paragraph for his essay for English. She pondered over what had suddenly given him the inspiration to write more ideas down on paper, but decided against asking him. After all, he looked like he was concentrating real hard. It'd be best to leave him be.

She cupped her chin in her hand and looked up at the afternoon sky. She and Inuyasha were basking in the sun on a grassy knoll, laying on their stomachs. From where she was sitting, she could see Sango and Miroku several yards away, seated under The Big Tree. They were rehearsing their music, working on their memorization skills. Sango looked up at some point and met Kagome's eyes. She nudged Miroku's arm and pointed at Kagome. Then, they both waved. Kagome giggled and gave them a small wave.

Suddenly, Miroku and Sango burst out laughing. Kagome frowned a bit and turned around. There was nothing humorous going on behind her. Inuyasha was still writing his essay, looking like he was deep in thought. She turned back to look at her other two roommates. They met her half-confused, half-cheerful gaze...and then busted up laughing again.

Kagome whipped her head around in time to catch Inuyasha making a cross-eyed face and pointing at her.

"Inuyasha!" she yelled.

He fake-screamed like a woman, scrambled to his feet, and ran away. Kagome bent over and snatched up his essay before chasing him.

* * *

"Ah, Inuyasha, that silly guy," Miroku said, chuckling quietly as he watched Kagome chase Inuyasha across the field, screaming threats at him.

"Those two..." Sango said, still laughing a bit from Kagome's reaction. "Don't tell them I said this, but...they kind of make a cute couple."

Miroku looked at his two black-haired friends and nodded in agreement. "They do." He lowered his head and stared at the ground, his violet eyes solemn.

"Miroku? What's wrong?"

"Mm?" Miroku blinked and shook his head. "Nothing. I was just thinking."

"O...kay."

She knew Miroku was lying. Judging by the sudden change in his facial expression, Sango knew that her male roommate had something on his mind. She just wish she knew what.

* * *

"Inuyasha! Get back here!"

"Make me!"

"_Inuyasha_ !"

Inuyasha laughed and quickened his pace. He and Kagome had been running a half-mile now, and he was starting to get kind of tired. They were nearing the track course. In front of the track were some bleachers. Maybe he and Kagome could rest there...that is, if Kagome didn't beat the snot out of him.

Once he'd made it to the bleachers and sat on the top row, Kagome started to scold him. He pretended to ignore her threats and just took his notebook out of her hands.

"Inuyasha," she panted out. "I am...soooo gonna beat you up."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm gonna beat you up so hard...you'll get bruises."

"That's cool."

"You will be..._very_ bruised."

"Awesome."

Kagome was still gasping for air. At some point, she let out a heavy sigh and leaned her head against his shoulder. He stopped writing for a moment, then continued to write, trying to pretend he didn't notice.

The sun was halfway below the horizon now. At this point, the weather started becoming a few degrees colder, and the mosquitoes were coming out to feast on the blood of humans with exposed flesh. Inuyasha and Kagome were still sweating from the run, so this wasn't the best weather to be in when you're super tired and filthy.

"Inuyasha..."

Inuyasha's head perked up at the sound of Kagome saying his name. "Yeah?"

"Inuyasha?"

"What?"

"What are you doing?"

"Uh, writing?"

"Stop. Get away from me."

"Huh?"

"She was right all along...!"

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha looked down at Kagome. His annoyed expression softened when he realized Kagome had snoozed off. Apparently, she was talking in her sleep.

"She was right," Kagome murmured.

"Who was right?"

"K...Ki..." Kagome's slumped against his. She was knocked out. She must've been all worn out from the sprint. And, judging from how late it was getting, Inuyasha figured it was time for them to go back to the dorm.

He put his pencil in his pocket and set his notebook down. Then, after a minute or two, he'd managed to lift Kagome onto his back with his notebook was wedged between his arm and side. He carefully climbed down the bleacher steps and began his longish journey back to the school building.

"Inuyasha," Kagome sleepily murmured into his ear.

"What?"

"You are my...my closest friend."

"I am?"

"Mm-hmm. And I don't care what people say...about you. I will always...stay by your side."

Even if she _was_ asleep, Kagome's words touched Inuyasha. He smiled softly. "I'm glad, Kagome."

She let out a sigh, and Inuyasha could almost hear her smile into that sigh. "Inuyasha?"

"Hmm?"

"How do you...How do you feel about me?"

He blinked. His breathing became irregular and his heartbeat was thrumming unusually fast. He awkwardly cleared his throat. "I, uh...I like you, I guess. I mean, you're a good friend of mine. You're smart, you're nice, you're funny..."

"Do you think I'm cute?" She seemed to hug him a bit tighter in her sleep.

"U-Um..."

"Do you want to know what I...what I think of you...Inuyasha?"

"Uh, sure."

"I...I love...y..."

Inuyasha's heartbeat quickened tenfold.

"I love yogurt."

His breath caught in his throat, and the largest sweat-drop known to anime appeared on his forehead. "R-Really?" he asked, his eyebrow twitching. He was resisting the urge to break every single structure on the field with his two bare hands.

"Mm-hmm. I love yogurt. It's very...delicious. I love..."

Suddenly, Kagome's arms wrapped around his torso and she tucked her head into the crook of his neck. "Inuyasha, I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Please...don't ever leave me. I..." Her embrace loosened a bit, and her long black hair spilled over both her shoulder and his shoulder. The lock of hair swayed with each step Inuyasha took. The ends tickled his collarbone and neck. He resisted reaching up and scratching it. He was just a few paces away from the door leading in to the gym when he heard Kagome whisper very quietly:

"I love you."

* * *

"Inuyasha's staring at you."

"_Again_?" Kagome tried to resist peering over her shoulder to confirm Sango's statement. Inuyasha had been acting strange—wait, scratch that. He was _always_ strange. But today, he was acting stranger than usual. Every time she glanced over at him, his midnight blue eyes were boring through her skull.

"Did something happen between you two yesterday?"

"Sango, I already told you—I chased him around the field until I fell asleep and he carried me home."

Sango raised her brows as she scribbled her name at the top of her worksheet. "I don't know, Kagome. From the way he's staring at you and not even attempting to hide it" —she looked at her friend, coffee-colored irises solemn— "something else must've happened."

Kagome paled. "You don't think he...?"

"No!" Sango furiously shook her head. "No, that's _not_ what I meant!"

Kagome tucked her bottom lip between her teeth. She shifted her attention to the piece of paper on her desk. It was a worksheet for Japanese Language class where all of the problems were just translating Japanese words into English. It was simple enough, since Kamakiri allowed the students to use their notes to do the assignment. She started to do problem number one until Sango spoke again:

"Do you think that maybe he's thinking about how you lay your head on his shoulder?"

The lead on Kagome's pencil snapped off from the pressure her writing hand was exerting. A vein popped on the raven-haired girl's forehead. "Sango, can we please talk about something else?" she muttered.

"Fine, fine." Sango chewed thoughtfully on her eraser as she read the first problem on the worksheet. "What does _arigato_ mean again?"

"I think it means _thank you_...right?"

Sango shrugged. "Don't ask me—I wasn't taking notes."

Kagome rolled her eyes and flipped open her notebook to search for the answer in her notes. Out of the corner of her eye, though, she could see Inuyasha still staring at her.

* * *

Oh God. Lunch was over. That meant seventh period was going to start. Seventh period meant science class. And science class meant sitting next to Inuyasha.

Kagome swallowed a large lump in her throat. She really didn't want to go to class, but it was against her nature to skip class. She paused by the door, took a deep breath, and pushed the heavy door open.

There he was. Sitting at their lab table in the back row. He looked nonchalant and calm, writing on a piece of paper. He was probably still doing his Japanese Language worksheet, since all he did during fourth period was gape at her for some reason.

She sucked in another puff of air before walking over to their table. She set her bag down on the lab table and sat down on the stool and waited. And waited and waited...Was he not going to talk to her?

"Hey, Kagome?"

_AH! He's going to say something about yesterday!_ Kagome forced herself to look at him. "Y-Yeah?" she almost choked out.

"I forgot to thank you for helping me with my homework, especially with the essay for English." He gave her a warm smile.

"Oh." She blinked. "Uh, no problem. That's what friends are for."

Oh crap. Where did that last part come from? Something about the last sentence she said instantly altered the atmosphere. It was very subtle, but Kagome saw a change in Inuyasha's facial expression. It was like her mentioning of being friends affected him in a way. He averted his eyes and nodded.

A long, painfully uncomfortable silence followed.

"So! Uh..." She had to break the awkward silence somehow. "What are we doing in English?"

He stared down at the worksheet. "Reviewing pronouns, prepositions, and all that stuff."

"Oh. Any homework?"

He shook his head.

She hesitated. She knew she was sounding nosy, but... "Inuyasha, are you okay? You've been acting kind of weird lately."

She never received an answer, though, because Ms. Yura had called for the class's attention.

"Listen up!" she said in a loud voice. "We have a lab today, so let's head on down to the sixth floor to room 623."

Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha to say something to him, but he had already risen, gathered his stuff, and walked away before she could even utter his name.

A hand clapped down on her shoulder. Kagome looked up to see Sango giving her a sympathetic look. "You okay?" she asked.

Kagome nodded. "I'm not sure about Inuyasha, though."

* * *

The school day was over, and Kagome wanted nothing more than to throw herself onto her bed and snooze until she had to wake up for school again. Unfortunately, she had homework. She went up to her locker after tenth period ended and put in the combination. Once the locker door popped open, she grabbed the necessary textbooks she would need for the night, and then slammed the door shut again. She turned to head towards the elevator when a thought—or actually a name—passed though her mind.

_Inuyasha..._

"I have to go check on him," she mumbled to herself. She made her way to the elevator, went down to the first floor, and headed towards the gym. Inside, she could hear the sound of a bouncing basketball. And voices. Two voices.

"Look, it's none of your damned business!"

"It is most definitely my business. As your principal, I am supposed to be keeping an eye on you at all times!"

Kagome wasn't one to eavesdrop, but curiosity got the better of her. She pressed herself against the wall and shuffled quietly towards the entry door to the gym. She peeked inside for a fraction of a second. Inside the gym were Inuyasha and Principal Myouga. Inuyasha was occasionally dribbling a basketball at his side, his expression annoyed, like he wanted to hurl the orange ball directly at the principal's wrinkly face.

"Listen, Myouga, I don't care if my father's paying you; just leave me the hell alone!"

"Watch your language," Myouga said in a warning tone. His fists unclenched at his sides and he heaved a sigh. "Were you telling the truth? In tenth period?"

"Of course I was. I wouldn't joke about something as serious as that."

Myouga sighed again, more heavily this time. "You _do_ realize your parents need to be told about this?"

Silence.

"I'll go tell your father," Myouga said. Then, there were footsteps. They were getting closer and closer to the gym's double doors, where Kagome was hiding.

Kagome gasped silently. She looked around for a hiding spot. She spotted a vending machine and ducked behind it. Once Myouga had sauntered by without noticing her, Kagome decided to take a chance and talk to Inuyasha.

When she had entered the gym, Inuyasha was shooting the basketball from the free-throw line. The ball swirled into the net. Upon hearing her nearing footsteps, Inuyasha looked up and saw her. He gave her a hybrid of a smile and a frown before going to retrieve the basketball that was bouncing toward the northern wall of the gymnasium.

Kagome dropped her stuff by the bleachers and walked towards the free-throw line where Inuyasha had been standing. When he had picked up the ball, she held out her hands. Wordlessly, he passed it to her. She caught it, dribbled it for a couple of seconds, and then hurled the ball at the net. It bounced off the orange rim before falling to the ground.

Once again, Inuyasha retrieved it. "So..." he said. He dribbled once—twice. "Why are you here? I thought you hated sports."

She shrugged. "I do, but..." She bit her lip and looked at the floor.

He stopped dribbling. "But...?" he prompted.

She sighed, then tilted her head up to meet his eyes. "I feel like you've been avoiding me."

His body stiffened and his shoulders tensed. He tossed the ball towards the net, but it missed. Instead of getting the ball, he ran a hand through his hair and started walking away from her.

"Inuyasha!" She jogged after him. She grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and tugged on it until he turned rather reluctantly to face her. "Did something happen yesterday?" she asked, getting straight to the point.

He turned his head to look at the door. "No."

"Inuyasha. Tell me the truth. What happened?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. It was...nothing."

"You wouldn't be avoiding eye contact with me if it were nothing!" Kagome narrowed her eyes at him. "Just tell me. I promise I won't get mad."

"Well..." He heaved a sigh. "What do you remember?"

"What?"

"What do you remember from yesterday?"

"Um. Well, I was helping you with your homework. Then, we waved at Sango and Miroku. Then, I chased you because you were making funny faces at me. And then, I was tired from running so I fell asleep and..." She shrugged. "That's it." She looked up at him. His eyes were still focused on the doors. "Why do you ask?" she inquired.

"Well..." he said again. He hesitated. "I'll get straight to the point. You talk in your sleep."

Her face grew hot. Kagome knew that her face was cherry red. Sango mentioned a few times that Kagome talked in her sleep, but she didn't actually believe it! And now, Inuyasha was confirming the fact that she did indeed mumble nonsense unconsciously.

"W-What did I say?" she almost whispered.

"Uh..." He rubbed the back of his neck. He made a dramatic display of checking his invisible watch. "Oh, will you look at the time! I better be—"

"Inuyasha!"

She had a death grip on his sleeve. So either he told her the truth, or he ripped off one of the sleeves of his favorite shirt.

"Okay, fine," he said, giving up. "You were saying things like how I was your closest friend and how you liked yogurt and asking me what I thought about you and stuff." He intentionally left out the last detail—the one where she embraced him in her sleep and said that she loved him.

"R-Really?" Kagome said, blushing madly. "Well...I tend to say a lot of weird things in my sleep." She looked up at him, frowning. "Is that all?"

"What do you mean _is that all_?"

"Is that the reason why you're avoiding me? Because I told you I liked yogurt and how you were my closest friend and all that while I was asleep?"

_Not at all._ "Yup."

She stared at him blankly for a moment before busting up laughing. "You are so funny!" she giggled out.

He smiled uneasily. "Yeah," he quietly said.

Still laughing, Kagome grabbed her backpack and books from the bleachers. "I'll see you at the dorm, closest friend of mine!" She left the gym, panting from laughing so hard.

Once she was gone, Inuyasha shifted his gaze from the doors to his shoes. With a heavy sigh, he went to the bleachers. He sat down at the front row, put his elbows on his knees, and pressed his palms to his eyes.


	6. Spying

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha.

Author's Note: I'll just cut to the chase—PLEASE REVIEW!

**Spying**

Kagome stared down at her homework. She had only finished the first set of problems, but she still had twenty-five more questions to work out on her paper before she could allow herself to take a guilt-free snack break. _Jeez, what the heck's wrong with me?_ she thought. _Ever since I got here, all I have been doing was snacking and eating junk food._ She inwardly shrugged. _Eh. It's probably my period coming up._

She exhaled a quiet sigh, then peered up at her study group of the day: Miroku and Kouga. Usually, she'd be solving mathematical equations alongside Sango and Ayame, but they were currently in the library doing a research project for English. Kagome herself was paired up with a pretty, yet super shy, girl named Kanna, but they'd scheduled to meet up at the library on Saturday. So, here was Kagome, lying on her stomach on the living room floor on a quiet Monday afternoon, doing her homework.

"Hey, Miroku," Kouga said from where he was lounging on the loveseat.

"Mm?" answered Miroku, who was laying on his stomach across from Kagome.

"What'd you get for number twenty-eight?"

"X equals eleven."

"Oh...what about number twenty-nine?"

"Y equals one hundred and two."

"And number thirty?"

"Do your fucking homework, Kouga."

Kouga groaned, rolling his azure eyes. "Hey, Kagome, what did you get for thirty?"

Kagome smiled apologetically. "I'm only on number eleven," she admitted.

He cocked an eyebrow in her direction. "Were you spacing out or is the homework hard?"

"Both."

As a matter of fact, Kagome couldn't get Inuyasha out of her mind. He looked pretty bummed out, and she had a feeling that, during their private conversation in the gym just an hour ago, he was lying. Sure, she talked to him in her sleep, but her calling him a close friend couldn't possibly make him avoid eye contact with her. No one could honestly avoid somebody because of _that_...could they?

Kagome was still pondering over this when the door was shoved open. She, Miroku, and Kouga all looked up to greet the newcomer.

It was none other than Inuyasha. He was wearing a black muscle shirt, basketball shorts, and athletic shoes, with a towel hanging loosely over his broad shoulders. His long ebony hair was damp, his bangs almost glued to his forehead. His skin emitted a glow, similar to the kind after a person had worked out. He was panting, so he must have either been exercising or running to get to the dorm. Knowing Inuyasha for the past two weeks, he must've been working out. After all, with a body like that—

She stopped herself from finishing that thought. _Damn teenage hormones..._

Kagome peeked up at her third male roommate. He was currently making small talk with Kouga and Miroku. She felt rather awkward being the only person not speaking, but she couldn't force herself to say something. Frankly, she was rather embarrassed to say something in Inuyasha's presence. Not to mention that she was naturally self-conscious. She tried to be as subtle as possible while lifting up the front part of her tank top to cover up some cleavage, just to make herself look a bit more decent. As she pulled all of her loose hair over one shoulder, she glanced up at Inuyasha again. His midnight blue irises made brief eye contact with Kagome before he turned and retreated to the boys' bedroom.

Kagome glimpsed at Kouga and Miroku, but they appeared unfazed by Inuyasha's sudden departure. She tried to focus back on her math homework, but the moment of eye contact kept replaying in her mind, making it almost impossible to concentrate on factoring and solving equations.

Five minutes later, Miroku closed his math textbook. "Finished," he sighed, sitting up and stretching his arms above his head. "What time should we go eat?" he asked Kouga and Kagome.

"The usual time," Kouga answered in a rather bored tone. "At seven."

"'Kay." Miroku gathered up his stuff and went to the boys' room.

At this moment, Kagome really wished she could understand why Inuyasha was so..._tense_ around her.

She couldn't help but gaze at the place where the hallway diverged, at the left fork that Inuyasha had walked down minutes ago. All the while, she couldn't help but wonder:

_Did I do something wrong?_

* * *

"Hey." Miroku shut the door behind him and locked it. Just as he had predicted, Inuyasha was sitting on his bed, elbows on his knees, fingers intertwined, and dark blue eyes staring at the carpeted floor. Miroku walked over to his own bed, which was directly across from Inuyasha's. He dropped his books on the mattress before turning to his silent friend and inquiring, "What happened?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "Nothing."

"Uh huh. Sure. Now tell me what really happened."

He sighed as he raked his fingers through his damp hair. "I'm telling you, Miroku, nothing happened."

"Psh, yeah right. I saw the way you looked at Kagome—something _definitely_ happened."

"Well..." Inuyasha flopped backwards on his bed and stared at the blank white ceiling. "Remember what I told you last night?"

"About Kagome talking in her sleep? Yeah, what about it?"

"She found me in the gym after tenth period. She wanted me to tell her why I was avoiding her."

"What did you tell her? You didn't—?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "No, I didn't tell her everything. I left out the last part."

"Why?"

Inuyasha rolled over and picked up the bottle of water that was sitting on his bedside table. He sat up, juggling the bottle back and forth between his hands. "I don't know. I just didn't have the guts to say anything about that." He twisted off the cap and took a long drink of water.

Miroku ran a hand through his hair, pushing back his choppy bangs. "You _do_ realize you're gonna have to tell her about everything, right? Either you tell her, or she finds out. Myouga already told me what you told him, and I think it'd be best if you talked to her as soon as possible. You'll have to tell her eventually. About Kikyou, about Onigumo, about—"

"I know." Inuyasha lowered his head, his bangs casting shadows over his eyes. "Just...Just give me a few days."

* * *

_I can't believe I'm doing this. This is possibly the stupidest idea I have ever come up with,_ Kagome thought as she finished scarfing down her dinner. She cast a glance over at the only vacant seat at the table—the chair that Inuyasha was supposed to be sitting in.

Earlier, Inuyasha had notified Miroku, who had relayed the information to the rest of the roommates, that he wasn't attending dinner for the evening. Kagome couldn't imagine what he could possibly be doing at the moment. What she _did_ know was that she was going to be putting herself in a risky situation within the next two minutes.

She slid out of her seat, picking up her plastic tray. "I'm gonna go back to the dorm," she announced to her roommates. They all blinked at her, since they were still barely halfway finished with their own dinners.

"Don't you want dessert?" Kouga asked.

Kagome waved a hand. "Nah." She spun on her heel, set her tray on the conveyor belt, and strode out of the cafeteria. Once she was outside the room, she turned right, over to the section of the school that she'd gotten lost in on the first day of school. That was when she was trying to pursue Inuyasha, but had failed miserably, lost him at some point, and had gotten lost herself.

Kagome's goal at the moment was to get lost. Yes, stupid as it sounded, she wanted to find herself in unknown territory, in uncharted waters, in the danger zone. She wanted to be helpless. She wanted to be vulnerable. She was risking her sense of direction just to be "rescued" by Inuyasha. And to be rescued by Inuyasha meant she had a chance to be alone with him, which meant she could get some answers.

Of course, Kagome knew that it was likely that Inuyasha wouldn't find her. That was where Plan B came in. What was Plan B, you ask? Well, the first time she'd gotten lost at school, someone other that Inuyasha had found her. So, if her being lost wasn't enough to lure Inuyasha, then perhaps interacting with Onigumo would.

_Once again, this is the stupidest idea I've ever come up with._

Kagome looked around. Did she recognize this hallway? It was very similar to the hallway she'd ended up in that fateful day, the day when Inuyasha came to her rescue. So, the answer to the previous question—nope. She had successfully completed her mission of getting lost. Now, all she had to do was continue wandering around until she crossed paths with somebody.

_Come on, idiot. Rescue me, damn it!_

She was already getting impatient. And her feet were starting to get sore from all that walking.

_Any second now..._

She looked to her left and right. She looked ahead. She looked behind her.

_This century would be fantastic...!_

She pulled up her jeans over her hips, tugged down the hemline of her T-shirt, and smoothed down the frizzes in her hair. Might as well make herself look presentable while she was waiting, right?

_Hurry the hell up, Inuyasha!_

"Lost again?"

Kagome whirled around, restraining a relieved gasp from escaping her lips. "Onigumo!" she almost choked out. _Now's your cue, Inuyasha._

Onigumo smiled softly at her, his deep brown eyes warm. "I'm surprised you still haven't found your way around the school yet. It's been two weeks into the school year, you know?" he said jokingly.

She giggled. "Yeah, well, I don't exactly explore the school. I just go to my classes and that's it."

"Hmm. You should explore the school someday. That way, you won't get lost."

"I should, huh?" Kagome agreed, smiling.

"Oh, but be sure to bring someone who already knows their way around to escort you."

"Right." She shuffled her feet. "Hey, uh, Onigumo, could you take me back to the cafeteria?"

Onigumo blinked in surprise. "Of course." He rotated his body to the right. "Follow me," he said over his shoulder.

Kagome was just about to follow when a hand clamped down on her shoulder. She yelped, but another hand reached out to gently touch her opposite arm. She swiveled her head to see who the owner of the hands was, and almost screamed with joy.

"I don't think so," Inuyasha said darkly. His midnight blue eyes narrowed as a bewildered Onigumo turned around.

Onigumo blinked again before he narrowed his brown eyes. He wordlessly turned and strode out of the hallway, his rhythmic footsteps gradually fading.

Inuyasha released Kagome, running both free hands through his hair with a sigh. Kagome turned and noticed that he sported the same apparel as earlier in the afternoon, except he was now wearing black sweatpants. Was he exercising _again_?

She looked at Inuyasha, but he was standing a few feet away from her, one hand covering his eyes. Unsure of what else to do, she took a tentative step towards him. "Inuya—"

She couldn't finish his name, for at that moment, he had pulled his hand away from his face to reveal very angry-looking blue eyes. They were almost flaming, but just looking at him alone, you could tell he was pissed. Very, very pissed. She felt a strange feeling inside her. It was warm, just below her bellybutton. What was that bizarre feeling?

"I thought I told you to stay away from him," Inuyasha muttered through gritted teeth. His voice sounded dangerous and very dark.

She stepped backwards, clenching a hand over her breast. The warmth inside her body grew slightly hotter. "I was just—I didn't—"

"You didn't what?" he snapped. "I saw it with my own eyes, Kagome! You were talking to him, even though I'd warned you to stay away from him. He's bad news—stay away from him!"

The warm sensation dissipated and was replaced with anger boiling in her blood. She was beginning to lose her patience with this guy. "Then tell me!" she retorted. "Tell me what's so bad about Onigumo! What makes him the bad guy? Why is he a threat to me? He was going to help me, you know!"

"I know what would've happened if you had followed him! He has a very bad reputation, and I don't want you to be his next victim!"

She wrinkled her brows. "Victim? What do you mean?"

His eyes widened a bit, as if he had just realized what he had blurted out. "N-Never mind," he mumbled.

She groaned, throwing up her hands in exasperation. "See, this is exactly why you're pissing me off! I just barely met you like two weeks ago, and now you're already acting like you control me and telling me what to do! And you know what pisses me off even more? You never explain why! You told me to stay away from Onigumo—_why_? I want answers, Inuyasha! I'm tired of you not talking to me! You never explain. You never elaborate. It's like you're hiding something from—" She sighed and turned around. "You know what—never mind. I'm leaving."

"Kagome." He grabbed her shoulder and twisted her around to face him.

She struggled. "Let me go!"

"Kagome, you don't even know how to get back to the dorm."

She glared up at him, still struggling. "Why do you care?"

His breath caught in his throat. His grip on her shoulders loosened, and she still struggled. Even then, however, she still couldn't break free.

"Would you just let me go already?" she half-yelled.

Kagome was about to yell some more until she felt a pull. It took her several seconds to register the fact that Inuyasha was embracing her, squeezing her body to his as if he were afraid to let go.

As if he never wanted to leave her...

* * *

Kagome looked warily at Inuyasha. He was sitting at their lab table, nonchalantly taking notes. He didn't look guilty of committing a crime of some sort, but, cheesy as it sounds, he indeed commit one—he had stolen her heart. She just couldn't help it. Every time she looked at him, she wanted to envelope his strong body in her arms, stroke that silky-looking black hair, kiss those full lips...

Now she knew for sure that she had a major crush on Inuyasha. And she didn't know a thing about him. Not even his last name.

And it didn't help her situation that she admired everything about him. Not only was he a smarty-pants, but he also excelled in the athletic department. Plus, he was chivalrous, always coming to her rescue—regardless of whether or not she actually needed it. He was smart, good-looking, strong, seemingly affectionate, and he had a lovable smile. The only thing he needed to work on was being more open-minded—more extroverted and social. How to motivate him to accomplish that goal, she wasn't sure.

A flashback suddenly played through her mind.

It had been exactly two weeks. Two weeks since the last hugging incident. Kagome had yet to tell Sango or Ayame, and Inuyasha acted like nothing had happened between the two of them. Kagome wasn't sure whether she wanted to spill the beans to one of her female roommates, or let her hormones get the better of her and leap into Inuyasha's arms and...well, you know.

Blushing, she snapped her head back towards the chalkboard, where Ms. Yura's substitute teacher was writing something about enzymes. They were eventually supposed to do a lab on that. Nobody was sure when the lab was going to be, and they couldn't ask Yura themselves since she had been gone from school for five days now. It was odd and some students were getting worried. Earlier that period, though, the fat substitute teacher had reassured everyone that Yura just had a fever and that she was coming back on Wednesday and that Yura had written in a note that the students had a lab on Friday.

And usually on lab days, the students were paired up with their partner at their lab table. During their biweekly labs, Kagome couldn't help but glance over at the way Sango and her partner Kuranosuke would flirt and laugh as they conducted their experiment. It was very difficult to suppress that feeling of jealousy as she watched the pair giggling and huddling together.

She and Inuyasha, on the other hand—Inuyasha usually made Kagome gather the necessary materials and write down the results while he did the experiment himself. It was very uneventful and truly disappointing. Then again, it was silly to expect Inuyasha to do something romantic from out of the blue. Now that she thought about it, every interaction she had with Inuyasha was usually just the two of them isolated from the rest of the student population. Not once had Inuyasha ever spoken to her in the presence of their roommates. She wondered why this was so...

The bell suddenly rang, snapping Kagome out of her reverie. She looked around in bewilderment. As usual, Inuyasha had already grabbed his stuff and was following the large mass of students out the door. Sango bounded up to her, her face pink and eyes sparkling.

"Guess what?" she said. From the sound of her voice, it was clear that Sango was doing all she could to not scream joyfully into Kagome's face.

"What?"

"Kuranosuke asked me out!"

Kagome's jaw dropped. "Really? It's only been a month into the school year!" She gathered her books and shoved them in her pack.

"Well, he didn't exactly say _hey, will you go out with me_; it was more like _hey, do you want to go see a movie with me_?"

Kagome scoffed. "A movie. So cliché."

Sango waved a hand. "You're just jealous 'cause Inuyasha hasn't asked you out yet."

Kagome slammed her hands on the lab table and stood up curtly. "Am not!" she snapped. "I hate that idiot! I don't like him at all! He never even _talks_ to me!"

"So? I guess you like the shy, mysterious type of guy."

"No I don't!"

"You're in denial."

"No I'm not!"

Sango shrugged. "Whatever you say."

Kagome sighed and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "So when's the date?"

Her best friend grinned. "This Friday." Her forehead wrinkled as her facial expression became worried. "But I don't know what to wear. Oh my God. Kagome! You and Ayame are gonna have to help me pick out an outfit!"

"Okay, okay. Calm down." Kagome shouldered on her backpack. "We'll pick one after school."

* * *

"I'm nervous!"

"Don't be."

"What if my breath smells bad?"

"That's what mints and gum are for."

"What if he thinks my laugh is annoying?" Sango asked worriedly, perfecting her straightened brown hair in the mirror of her vanity.

"I thought you guys were gonna watch a horror movie...?" Ayame frowned in confusion. "You laugh during horror movies, Sango?" she inquired.

"She certainly does," Kagome answered for her shaking friend. "Believe me, we get shushed in the movie theater all the time 'cause of her."

"Oh, shut up," Sango said. She turned to the girls. "Are you sure I should leave my hair down? Maybe I should put it up so—"

"Sango, relax," Kagome said. She stood up and started shoving Sango towards the door.

"Wait! What about—?"

"For the last time, you don't need Kirara to chaperone your date."

"But...!"

"No buts!"

Ayame trailed behind her two female roommates to the living room, where Miroku and Kouga were sitting.

Kouga looked up. "Wow, Sango, you look great." He grinned at her.

Sango blushed and stared at the floor. "Th-thanks."

"Where are you going?" Miroku asked, his question directed to all three girls.

"Oh, Ayame and I aren't going anywhere," Kagome said. She put an arm around Sango's shoulders. "But Sango here has a date."

Miroku's smile faltered. Kagome stared at the way Miroku's hand clenched and unclenched before it fidgeted with the corner of a couch cushion.

There was a knock at the entry door. Ayame answered it.

"Hi," said a male voice. "Is Sango here?"

Ayame beamed. "Yes, she is!" She reached out, clamped her hand around Sango's wrist, and yanked her over to the front door.

"Uh...hi," said Kuranosuke.

"Hi," Sango responded shyly. She reached over to the coat rack and grabbed her black jacket.

"Ready to go?" Kagome couldn't see Kuranosuke himself, but she saw his hand extend out towards Sango, who gingerly placed her hand onto his. She followed her date through the threshold and into the hallway.

"See ya!" Ayame called before she shut the door.

When Kagome turned back around, she'd noticed that Miroku had gotten up and went back to the boys' bedroom. The sound of the door shutting in the direction of the narrow hallway gave off the impression that maybe he was...

"Hey, Kouga?" said Ayame.

"Yeah?"

"I don't mean to sound nosy or anything, but...does Miroku like Sango?"

Kagome's jaw dropped. How straightforward was Ayame!

Kouga shrugged. "Looks like he has a crush on her. He hasn't exactly said anything about liking her, though...at least not out loud."

"Ooh, I sense a love triangle."

"Did you see the look in his eyes when that guy came to pick up Sango?" Kouga widened his eyes a bit and pointed at both of them. "Daggers!"

Ayame nodded. "Yup. Glaring daggers through the door right into Kuranosuke's skull."

Kagome went to the coat rack and grabbed her jacket.

"Where are you going?" Ayame inquired.

"To spy on Sango," Kagome simply replied, as if she were telling her roommates that she was going to the store.

"Oh," said Kouga. "Have fun!"

* * *

Kagome felt like a ninja—a ninja wearing jeans and a white jacket. A ninja blending in with the crowd. However, even though many people in the movie theater lobby had black hair, she still had to be discrete, since Sango could recognize Kagome instantly. Our little ninja Kagome was currently sitting on a bench, reading a magazine she had found in Sango's car, which she had used to drive to the theater (Sango allowed Kagome to use her car if Kagome notified her beforehand, but she didn't have to know that her best friend used it for spying purposes, right?). She peered over the top of the pages to look at Sango and her date.

Kuranosuke must've said something funny because Sango was laughing out loud. So loud that Kagome winced a bit at the high-pitched giggle Sango emitted whenever she was flirting. For some reason, boys thought that laugh was cute, but to Kagome it was like nails scratching down a chalkboard...Okay, maybe it wasn't _that_ bad, but it was still rather creepy.

Kagome lifted the magazine a bit to cover her face. When she glanced at Sango again, Sango was pointing at a poster advertising a horror film that was playing. Kuranosuke nodded and paid for their tickets. When they went to the concession stands, Kagome hurried to the ticket booth to pay for her own ticket.

But then, when she turned around to go to the snack counter to buy something yummy and fattening, she bumped shoulders with someone. "Oh, sorry!" she said. She looked up...and blinked. "Inuyasha?"

"Kagome?"

"What are you doing here?" they asked in unison, pointing at each other.

Kagome planted her hands on her hips. "Well, I, uh...I was just gonna watch a movie." She motioned to the movie poster displaying an open doorway with an intimidating silhouette looming there, holding what appeared to be a knife. "It looked...interesting."

He nodded. "Right. Same here." He turned to the ticket booth and bought a ticket...for the same movie Kagome was going to watch.

"You're watching that movie, too?" Kagome questioned.

"Huh?" Inuyasha was stuffing his change into his jeans pocket. "Yeah. I, uh, I heard it was really good."

She nodded slowly, still stunned at the irony. Then, she smiled. "Well, since we're both watching the same movie, why don't we sit together?"

He shrugged. "Sure."

They both walked right past the snack counter (Kagome had forgotten her little craving) and into the dark hallway. There, they went to theater four and sat down in the back row.

Kagome craned her neck and started looking around. She instantly spotted Sango and Kuranosuke; they were sitting just a couple of rows in front of her and Inuyasha. "Hey, isn't that Sango?" she asked casually.

"Where?" Kagome noticed Inuyasha looking around and almost standing up in his seat. "Where's she at?"

She frowned. "Wait a second. Why do you want to see her so badly?"

"Uh..." Inuyasha turned his head away from his companion and continued surveying the crowd. "I just...want to wave at her."

Kagome gasped. "You're spying on Sango, aren't you?"

He stared at her with wide eyes. "N-No I'm not!"

She frowned. "Don't deny it. Tell the truth!"

"Well, you're spying on her, too!"

"That's because I'm her best friend and I'm making sure her date doesn't make a move on her! What's _your_ excuse?"

"Um...I—"

"Hold the phone!" Kagome shouted. Somebody to her left shushed her. She lowered her voice and said, "Did Miroku ask you to spy on Sango?"

Inuyasha made a weird face. "I'm _not_ spying on her!" he whispered.

"Yes, you are! Nobody ever goes to the movies by themselves, unless they're spying on somebody."

"That's not true!"

"In our case, yes it is!" She leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs. "The only other reason you'd come here looking for Sango is because you're a creepy stalker who has a major crush on her."

He sighed. "Fine. I'll admit it," he said, leaning back in his seat as well. "Miroku has a major crush on Sango, and he got super jealous of that guy she's dating. He asked me to keep an eye on Sango—to protect her, you know."

Kagome blinked. Then, she put a hand over her heart. "Aw, that's so sweet!" she cooed, still whispering.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "It's actually kinda creepy to me."

"It'd be creepier if _he_ was the one that was stalking Sango," she pointed out.

He nodded. "True."

Kagome shifted her gaze back to Sango. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped at the sight. She grabbed Inuyasha's sleeve and yanked him close enough to whisper into his ear, "He has his arm around her!"

"What?" Inuyasha swiveled his head at the couple. Narrowing his eyes, he stood up.

Kagome clapped a hand on his shoulder and shoved him back down in his seat. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

He nodded his head towards Sango and Kuranosuke. "Come on, we're moving closer to them." He grasped her wrist and pulled her towards the row directly behind the couple. The pair of spies sat down as quietly as they could right behind Sango, keeping their eyes glued to Kuranosuke.

"So, are you scared yet, Sango?" Kuranosuke asked, smiling.

She giggled softly as she shook her head. She snuggled a bit closer to him. "Not yet."

"Don't worry. If you get scared, I'll be right here."

Kagome and Inuyasha exchanged wide-eyed looks and mouthed, "What the hell?"

"What do we do?" she mouthed almost frantically.

"I don't know," he mouthed back, shrugging. Then, his head perked up a bit. He nudged Kagome's arm. "I'll be right back," he whispered. And he stood up and left the dark theater.

Kagome glared daggers at Kuranosuke. He looked like such a friendly person, but he was way too forward. Honestly, putting your arm around a girl on the first date, even though you'd barely met her a month ago? Kagome believed in holding hands on a first date, but putting your arm around your date should be saved for the third date or something. If Kuranosuke kissed Sango at all, Kagome was seriously going to chuck her shoe at his head. Even if it was an innocent little peck on the cheek, she was going to fling something quite heavy at him.

The movie previews started playing, advertising more horror films that were soon to be released.

After the first preview, Kuranosuke's hand trailed down from Sango's shoulder to her elbow and back up. Kagome scowled and shook her head in disbelief.

_Un-be-lievable,_ she thought.

"Maybe we should see that movie next week," Sango said, motioning to the screen as the second preview played.

Kuranosuke grinned. "Sure."

Kagome's jaw dropped.

"Did something happen?" somebody whispered to her. She looked up. It was Inuyasha, and he had returned with a gigantic tub of popcorn and two candy bars. He tossed one onto Kagome's lap.

"Thanks." She waited until he sat down before leaning over to whisper in his ear, "Sango wants a second date and Kuranosuke agreed."

He shook his head. "Bastard," he mumbled before tossing a buttery kernel into his mouth.

She gestured to the popcorn. "What's that for?"

"I was hungry." She sweat-dropped.

"Hey, Sango?" Kuranosuke murmured. Inuyasha and Kagome immediately leaned forward to eavesdrop.

"Yes?" the brunette replied.

"Do you want to have dinner after the movie?"

She smiled softly. "Sure."

"That idiot!" Kagome whispered very quietly as she leaned back and crossed her legs. "It's dinner _before_ the movie, not after!" She shook her head. "Dumb ass..."

Inuyasha shrugged. "I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, personally, I don't think that's such a bad idea—having dinner after a movie."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "That's 'cause you're a boy."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Before Kagome could retort, Kuranosuke had leaned in a bit and kissed Sango on the cheek. Kagome couldn't suppress the gasp from escaping her mouth. Inuyasha's jaw dropped. Then, he reached into the tub of popcorn and threw a kernel at Kuranosuke's head. It got stuck in his ponytail, and Kuranosuke reached back with his free hand to pick it off. He looked over his shoulder, but failed to notice Inuyasha putting the tub of popcorn on the ground to hide the evidence. Once Kuranosuke faced forward again, Inuyasha retrieved his popcorn.

Kagome suppressed a giggle behind her hand. What Inuyasha did was so childish and immature, but it was comical. Inuyasha glanced over at her and couldn't help but smile, too.

* * *

"Seriously, it felt like someone was throwing popcorn at me in the theater."

"Honestly, Kuranosuke, you're just being paranoid."

Kuranosuke shook his head as he jabbed his fork into his plate of spaghetti. "I'm not! I even had to pick the popcorn out of my hair!"

Sango laughed. "Whatever you say."

Sitting a few tables, Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "He's such a girl," he said before taking a sip of his soda.

"You'd be complaining too if you had popcorn in your hair," Kagome pointed out.

He looked at her blankly. "It's called a shower," he said. "I can just wash it off."

"Well, he's probably being self-conscious because he's on a date."

"Why are you even defending him?"

"I don't know."

They glanced back at Sango and her stupid date. They were currently eating spaghetti—from their own plates, thank goodness. If Inuyasha had seen the couple sharing a plate of spaghetti, he probably would've thrown a chair at Kuranosuke. After all, Inuyasha was the one who had thrown about half a tub's worth of popcorn at his head and the occasional pebble at his back. Kuranosuke was starting to get freaked out, but Sango was convincing him that he was just imagining it.

"If only we had some binoculars," Kagome said.

Her companion raised a brow at her. "What, you can't see?"

"I can, but I can't understand what they're saying now."

"That's 'cause they're whispering. Duh!"

She chucked a wadded-up napkin at his head. "Shut up."

He threw the napkin ball back at her. She tossed it back. He grinned. "Are we gonna have a napkin war?" he joked.

She rolled her eyes. "Do you know what they're saying?" she questioned, nodding towards the couple.

He shrugged. "No idea."

"Maybe if we move closer..."

"_Move closer?_ Not very subtle, are ya?"

"Well, I just want eavesdrop a bit!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "In _this_ place? Your best bet is hiding under the table!"

Kagome sighed. He had a point. This restaurant wasn't exactly the best place to eavesdrop. The restaurant itself was just one gigantic room with several booths and tables scattered about. A serving bar lined one wall while the other three walls had booths. Inuyasha and Kagome were sitting at a booth across the room from Sango and Kuranosuke, which made eavesdropping a challenge. Plus, the table between the two booths was occupied by a rowdy family eating from a platter of chicken wings.

Inuyasha cringed when he saw the chubby father consuming his chicken wing. "Can we go now?" he asked Kagome.

She shook her head. "Not until the date's over."

"But that could take forever!"

"Well, fine. You can report to Miroku that there will definitely be another date and become a failure as a spy!"

He rolled his eyes again. "Ooh, not my reputation as a spy," he sarcastically said.

"Sango's getting up!"

"Is the date over?"

"No."

He groaned and dropped his head onto the tabletop with a painful-sounding thud.

Kagome sighed, but eyed Kuranosuke suspiciously. Suddenly, a hand clapped down on her shoulder. She squeaked out an "eep!" In front of her, Inuyasha lifted his head curiously, and then paled. Kagome slowly looked over her shoulder.

"Having fun?" Sango said. Her voice was calm and quiet, but her narrowed eyes were glinting with anger.

"H-Having fun eating?" Kagome laughed out nervously. "Yup! Having the time of our lives, right, Inuyasha?"

"Of course! Yes, we are! I mean, come on, isn't it obvious how much fun we're having?" He wiped his forehead with the back of a hand. "Oh, would ya look at that! I'm having so much fun I'm sweating!"

Sango raised a brow. "Uh-huh. Sure." She folded her arms over her chest. "I really don't want to make a scene in here, but if you don't tell me the real reason you're here, I just might not care if people stare."

"Hey, that rhymed!"

Under the table, Kagome squished Inuyasha's foot for his stupid comment. She beamed up at Sango as innocently as possible. "We still have no clue what you're talking about!" she lied.

Sango glared daggers at the pair. She planted her hands on the edge of the table and lowered her head so that only Inuyasha and Kagome could hear her mutter, "I'm gonna give you five seconds to get the hell out of here."

The pair of spies did what any other spy would do in a situation like this—they ran out of that restaurant as fast as possible.

* * *

"I told you we should've left!"

"Shut up, Inuyasha."

"I told ya. I told ya. And what did you say?" Inuyasha's voice went up an octave as he poorly impersonated his companion. "_No, not until the date's over_."

Kagome glared at him. She lifted her hand and slapped his ice cream cone out of his hand.

Inuyasha stared down at his two scoops of vanilla ice cream, which now lay splattered all over the grass. "You owe me an ice cream," he finally said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Whatever." She crossed her legs as she ate her ice cream and watched a couple of kids lining up by the ice cream truck. She and Inuyasha had jumped into their respective cars and had driven to the park, and then treated themselves to some ice cream.

"She seriously looked like she was gonna shove a fork into my eye," Inuyasha said, referring to the fuming Sango back at the restaurant.

"Be thankful that you're not sleeping in the same room as her," Kagome said.

"Oh yeah, that's true. Good luck sleeping tonight without being injured."

"Gee, thanks." She sighed. "So now what?"

He shrugged. "I guess I should tell Miroku what happened." He fished out his cell phone from the pocket of his jacket. "I'll be right back."

"Okay." Kagome continued licking her ice cream. And then, the thought had just barely struck her. She was alone. With Inuyasha.

She looked up. Inuyasha was standing several yards away, pacing as he talked on the phone. His expression looked so solemn. She watched the way his full lips shaped the words he verbalized. It was almost impossible to not think about how those lips would feel against her own, the many places on her body that those lips could touch.

Her skin was scorching hot at the thought. So hot, that she could almost hear a sizzle as her melting ice cream dripped off the cone and onto her fingers. She quickly pried her thoughts away from such dirty ideas and focused on finishing her treat before Inuyasha came back to see her red face.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated. With her free hand, Kagome pulled her phone out and checked the new text message. It was from Sango. It read:

_Thanks for taking my car. I won't beat you up tonight if you put gas in it :)_

Kagome wasn't sure whether to giggle or gulp. She only had five dollars in her pocket right now.

"Well, looks like I'm fired."

She looked up at Inuyasha. "Fired?"

"As Miroku's spy."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"I wish I could say it wasn't your fault, but it is."

She rolled her eyes as he sat down beside her on the bench. "Hey, Inuyasha?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I borrow twenty bucks from you?"

"What for?"

"Look." She held out her phone. The screen still displayed Sango's text. Inuyasha peered at the phone, then snorted after reading it.

"Yeah. Sure." He pulled out his wallet, fished out a twenty, and handed the bill to her. "Just be sure to pay me back."

"I will, I will. Thanks." She stuffed the money deep into her pocket. It was her get-out-of-being-beat-up-free card.

"So far, you owe me an ice cream and twenty bucks," Inuyasha said to her.

She rolled her eyes. Then, she stood up. "Listen, I'm gonna go back to the dorm," she told him.

He nodded. "Okay. I'm gonna stay here for a while." He tilted his head up so that his dark blue eyes met her chocolate brown ones. "I'll see you later."

She nodded back. "'Kay. See ya." She turned and headed to the parking lot.

* * *

Kagome unlocked and pushed the door open to hear the theme song to a rerun of _Friends_. Sitting in front of the TV on the long couch was Kouga.

"Hey, Kouga," she greeted as she yanked off her jacket.

Kouga's head swiveled towards her. "Oh, hey," he returned. "How'd the spying go?"

Kagome smiled nervously. "Got found out."

"She saw you."

"We were in a little restaurant, okay?" she defended herself.

Kouga raised a brow. "We?"

"Me and Inuyasha."

"Oh, he was spying with you?"

She nodded. "I guess we kind of stood out from the crowd," she mumbled. She sat down by Kouga and silently watched some commercials.

"I love the GEICO commercials," Kagome said, giggling after A GEICO commercial played.

Kouga chuckled. "I know, right? They're so random."

Suddenly, a Zoosk commercial started playing (you know, the one with the redhead and her "serious romance"). Kouga and Kagome instantly burst out laughing.

Just as they finished laughing, Kagome suddenly felt a new warmth on her knee. She looked down and saw Kouga's hand there. Kouga looked down and quickly drew his hand back.

"Sorry," he immediately mumbled.

"It's fine," she murmured. Her face was flushed and pink. "So..." she said, ending the awkward silence filled by a loud commercial about car insurance. "Where are Miroku and Ayame?"

Kouga shrugged. "The last time I saw them was at dinner. I guess they headed somewhere else."

"Oh."

"Where's Inuyasha?"

"He's at the park."

"Oh."

There was a long silence between them. They watched two reruns of Friends without even speaking to one another. But Kagome couldn't concentrate on the plot-line of the episodes—all she could think about was the moment when Kouga's hand was on her knee. Was that an accident? Or was that...?

* * *

"Is Inuyasha gone again?"

Miroku nodded at Sango's question. "Yeah. He got permission to go home again."

"Oh." Kagome could almost read Sango's mind: _Damn, I was gonna beat the shit out of him today_.

While cutting her pancakes, Ayame asked, "Is he going to be gone for a while?"

Miroku nodded again. "He told me he might be gone for a week."

"A week? But don't you two have that English project to do?"

Miroku gave an one-shoulder shrug. "It's fine. It's not that hard anyway."

Ayame frowned, but wordlessly began to eat her breakfast.

Kagome dipped her hash brown into the glob of ketchup on her plate, being sure to avoid eye contact with Kouga. Even though the hand-on-the-knee thing was probably an accident, she still couldn't help but feel...awkward around her roommate.

* * *

At one o'clock that Saturday afternoon, Kagome padded into library. She looked around and her eyes immediately locked onto the small, pale girl sitting in a large cushioned chair with a large pile of books at her feet. Although the girl was tiny, she was fifteen years old with very thick black hair and deep brown eyes. Kagome thought that she was very pretty, but this girl gave off a mysterious aura that seemed to make others avoid her.

Kagome went over to the school and set down her backpack on the floor beside a vacant chair. "Hey, Kanna."

The girl peered over the top of her book at Kagome and flashed her a ghost of a smile. "Hello." Kanna's voice was very soft and high-pitched, similar to that of an introverted child.

"So...have you started the research already?"

Kanna nodded. "Yes. I have been here since ten."

Kagome's jaw dropped. "You've been here for three hours?" she half-yelled. Some people nearby shushed her, including the librarian, who was putting away some books.

Kanna nodded again. "I have some notes on Edgar Allan Poe, but I still need some information on his death."

"Oh. Should I look it up?"

"I was thinking that I could do the research and you can write out the essay."

"Oh..." Kagome blinked. "Okay." A few silent minutes ticked by. Kagome wasn't sure what to do because Kanna hadn't given her her research notes. Instead, Kanna was reading the book, which Kagome assumed was a biography about Poe (they had to do a research paper on several famous authors, and they were assigned Edgar Allan Poe).

"Kagome." Even though Kanna's voice was soft, it still startled Kagome.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Are you getting along with Inuyasha?"

_Huh?_ Kagome blinked again, stunned at the randomness of the question. It was so out of the blue. So unlike Kanna to ask a question like that. "Yeah," she answered. "We're getting along just fine. Why do you ask?"

Kanna shrugged. "I was just curious. I heard that Inuyasha is a tough person to get along with."

"Really?"

Kanna nodded. "I have a class with him, and he's very quiet in there."

"What class?"

"Feudal Era History."

"Oh yeah?" Kagome leaned forward. "How is that class anyway? I read a few chapters in the textbook. It sounds really interesting. What do you guys learn in there? Do you read from the textbook? Are there lectures?"

Kanna blinked. "Oh. Well, it's fairly interesting. We learn something new every day."

"Like what?"

"Er...we learn about how demons disguise themselves to look human."

"Really? How? How do demons do that?"

"Um..." Kanna shifted her gaze down to her lap.

Kagome sat back. "Sorry, Kanna," she said. "I'm just interested is all. I really want to take it next year, but Inuyasha told me only certain people can take that class."

Kanna nodded. "It's true."

"What are the qualifications? Do you know?"

"Well...I didn't really sign up or anything. Myouga just came up to me and offered me the class."

"Oh." Kagome frowned. "So, it's the teacher's decision on whether or not you're allowed to take the class?"

Her companion nodded. "Right."

"That sucks." With a sigh, Kagome cupped her chin in her hand. "I really wanted to take it."

Kanna didn't say anything.

Kagome glanced over at her partner and frowned in confusion. Why did Kanna look so...tense? Kagome knew it was bad to jump to her own conclusions, but it seemed like Inuyasha and Kikyou weren't the only people hiding something from her. Whatever the secret was, it looked like Kanna was in on it, too. Kagome just needed to find out _what _that secret was.


End file.
